OUR  BIBLE 

How  We  Got  It 

CHARLES  LEACH 
and 

Ten  Reasons 
Why  I  Believe 
the  Bible  is  the 
Word  of  God 

R.  A.  TORREY 


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OUR  BIBLE 


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I           ^"iii^^m. 

Vt 

How  We  Got  It 

By  Rev.   Charles  Leach,  D.D. 

Ten  Reasons  Why  I   Believe  the 
Bible  is  the  Word  of  God 

By  R.  A.    lorrey 


CHICAGO 

The  Bible  Institute  Colportage  Association 

828  La  Salle  Avenue 


Cofyrighted  1898,  by  Fleming  E.  BeveU  Cempunff 


PREFACE. 


HAVE  written  this  book  for  my 
own  pleasure  and  profit;  and  now 
publish  it,  hoping  to  give  pleasure 
and  profit  to  others. 

In  its  preparation  I  have  made 
use  of  such  material  as  i  cnought 
suitable,  wherever  I  found  it,  and  I  desire  to  acknowl- 
edge most  fully  my  indebtedness  to  a  large  number 
of  able  writers  whose  works  I  have  been  able  to  con- 
sult. Among  them  I  desire  to  mention  Dr.  Westcott, 
Dr.  R.  W.  Dale,  Dr.  Newth,  Dr.  4.  P.  Smyth,  Thomas 
Cooper,  Dr.  Tischendorf,  "  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary," 
and  many  others. 

Should  any  of  the  multitude  of  busy  people  who 
love  the  Bible  obtain  help  from  the  following  pages, 
no  one  will  rejoice  more  than  the  busy  man  who  has 
written  them. 


CHARLES  LEACH. 


Manchester,  1697. 


CONTENTS, 


PART  I.  —THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

IHAP.  TAQB 

I.    Introduction                                           . .        . .  9 

II.    Christ  bkforb  the  Gospels       14 

III.  The  Teerbb  Oldest  Bibles  in  the  World   ..  19 

IV.  The  Three  Oldest  Bibles  in  the  World, 

Continued          27 

V.    The  Ancient  Fathers  of  the  Church          ..  35 

VI.    The  Apostolic  Fathers 41 

VIL     POLYCARP              .            .-  47 

nil.    Papias 54 

IX.    Ancient  Versions  of  the  Scriptures            ..  59 

PART  II.— THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 

X.    Our  Lord's  Bible 66 

XL    The  People's  Bible  Before  Christ    ..        ..  71 

XII.    The  Fountain=Head            76 

PART  III.  —OUR  ENGLISH  BIBLE. 

XIII.  The  First  Versions         . .        . .            . .        . .  80 

XIV.  The  Scriptures  in  Anglo*Saxon       ..        ..  86 
XV.    John  Wycliffb        ,.          ..          ..        ..  90 

XVI.    William  Tyndale          . .  95 

XVII.    Authorized  Versions        ..          ..          ..  102 

XVIII.    The  Revised  Version               108 

Ten  Reasons  Why  I  Believe  the  Bible  is 

the  Word  of  God,    by  R.  A.  Tobrey       . .  114 


Is  My  Bible  True? 

Where  did  we  get  it? 


PART  I.— THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

ONCE  said  to  a  Christian  lady,  "  Is 
the  Bible  really  true?''  Without  a 
moment's  hesitation  she  answered, 
"  Of  course  it  is  true."  But  when 
I  asked  her  how  she  would  proceed 
to  prove  it  to  be  true,  she  could 
not  answer  me.     Could  you? 

If  I  were  to  ask  you  where  the  Bible  came  from, 
who  wrote  it,  and  when  and  where,  you  might  not  be 
able  to  tell  me  readily.  And  yet  these  questions  can 
be  answered  by  those  who  have  had  time  to  study 
the  subjects  which  they  raise. 

There  are  thousands  of  people  all  over  the  world 


10  INTRODUCTION 

who  love  the  Bible  as  the  best  of  all  books.  It  is 
their  daily  companion  and  friend.  They  accept  it 
as  the  inspired  Word  of  God.  They  come  to  it  for 
comfort  when  they  are  sad,  for  guidance  when  per- 
plexed, and  for  instruction  in  those  matters  of  the 
soul  and  God  which  they  cannot  obtain  elsewhere. 
It  has  quickened  them  into  new  life,  and  been  to 
them  one  of  God's  agents  in  kindling  on  the  altar  of 
their  hearts  those  flames  of  immortal  glory  which 
reach  beyond  the  bounds  of  time.  It  inspires  many 
of  them  to  deeds  of  love  and  sacrifice,  which  make 
the  world  richer  and  better.  The  poor  among  them 
read  it,  and  learn  to  sing  songs  of  joy  and  gladness 
in  their  poverty.  The  rich  among  inem  read  it, 
and  many  of  them  discover  that  they  are  stewards 
for  God,  and  that  the  gold  and  silver  which  they  hold 
belong  to  Him.  The  tempted  and  the  tried  find  it 
a  source  of  new  strength  and  hope. 

THE  MASSES  LOVE  THE  BIBLE, 

Among  these  people  are  many  of  the  excellent 
of  the  earth.  Thousands  of  them  would  suffer  any 
loss  rather  than  part  with  the  Bible.  In  the  first 
centuries  of  the  Christian  era  many  were  cast  into 
prison  rather  than  give  up  their  Scriptures  to  those 
who  wer«  engaged  upon  the  impossible  task  ^f  exter- 
minating the  Bible.  Numbers  of  them  suffered  death 
itself  rather  than  dishonor  the  Word  of  the   living 


THE  MASSES  LOVE  THE  BIBLE  11 

God.  Among  the  masses  of  the  people  to=day  there 
are  multitudes  who  have  the  same  loyal  love  for  the 
inspired  Book,  and  if  occasion  demanded  it,  would 
endure  death  rather  than  dishonor  it. 

And  yet  many  of  them  could  not  answer  my  ques- 
tions. It  is  to  help  such  as  these  that  I  write  these 
pages.  I  want  them  to  know  that  the  Bible  which 
we  have  is  substantially  the  same  as  that  possessed 
by  our  Lord  and  His  Apostles  and  the  Christians 
in   the    first    century. 

There  is  one  thing  of  which  we  are  all  sure — the 
BihCe  is  here.  Wherever  it  came  from,  whoever  made 
it — we  possess  it.  True  or  false,  good  or  bad,  of  men 
or  of  God,  inspired  or  uninspired,  it  is  among  us. 

Our  fathers  had  it  before  us.  Their  copies  of  the 
Scriptures  are  in  our  possession,  not  a  few  of  them 
marked  and  made  precious  with  the  tears  they  shea 
upon  the  p^iges,  hallowed  with  the  breath  of  their 
prayers.  Their  fathers  had  it,  too.  Where  did  they 
get  it?     In  order  to  discover  its  truth,  we  will 

TRACE   IT   BACK   TO   ITS   SOURCE. 

The  River  Thames  flaws  through  London.  It 
bears  on  its  bosom  the  ships  of  all  nations,  which 
carry  the  merchandise  of  the  world.  Below  London 
it  flows  into  the  ocean,  and  puts  the  nation  in  touch 
with  all  parts  of  the  globe.  It  is  interesting  to  follow 
it  backward,   and   see   it  as  it  flows    through  quiet 


12  INTRODUCTION 

valleys,  past  ancient  cities  and  many  a  mile  of  peace- 
ful scenery.  Londoners  do  not  like  their  old  river 
any  the  less  when  they  discover  that  it  has  its  source 
as  a  small  stream  among  the  distant  hills,  and  grows 
to  be  the  noble  river  it  is  as  it  passes  London  after 
many  other  rivers  and  streams  have  flowed  into  it. 
In  like  manner,  we  shall  love  our  Bible  no  less, 
but  more,  when  we  know  how  it  came  into  the  world 
and  grew  to  be  the  noble  book  it  is. 

I  shall  have  to  take  you  on  journeys  to  different 
cities  and  distant  lands.  We  shall  have  to  visit 
many  libraries,  examine  old  books  and  parchments, 
consult  ancient  records,  and  peep  into  some  churches 
venerable  with  age.  We  shall  have  to  visit  ancient 
monasteries,  and  sit  beside  some  of  the  old  monks 
who  are  now  safe  in  the  better  land. 

We  want  to  know,  as  far  as  we  can  learn,  how 
to  answer  the  following  questions: 

I.  Is  the  Bible  really  true? 

II.  Where  did  our  Bible  come  from? 

III.  Is  our  Bible  the  same  which  the  ancient 
Christians  read  daily? 

IV.  Were  the  contents  of  our  New  Testament  in 
our  hands,  in  the  hands  of  the  Apostles  and  their 
friends  and  followers  before  the  first  century  had 
closed? 

V,— Is  the  Old  Testament  which  we  peruse  the 
same  which  our  Lord  had? 


QUESTIOtfS  TO  BE  ANSWERED  18 

We  shall  deal  first  with  the  New  Testament,  and 
then  with  the  Old,  and  then  wo  shall  trace  the  his- 
tory of  our  English  Bible.  May  the  spirit  of  God 
who  inspired  the  holy  Apostles  help  us  and  guide  us 
in  the  way  of  all  truth  I 


II. 


CHRIST  BEFORE  THE  GOSPELS. 


|UR  Lord  lived  and  taught  and  died 
before  the  Gospels  we  possess  were 
written  at  all.  After  His  ascension 
into  heaven,  almost  a  generation 
passed  before  the  earliest  Gospel 
was  written.  We  do  not  know 
that  He  wrote  a  line,  except  with  His  finger  on  the 
floor  of  the  Temple  when  the  Pharisees  brought  a 
fallen  woman  into  his  presence. 

He  came  down  from  heaven,  published  the  good 
news  of  salvation,  called  and  trained  His  disciples, 
breathed  upon  them  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  went  back 
to  heaven  without  leaving  behind  Him  any  written 
Gospel  at  all.  The  legacy  He  left  to  the  world  was 
not  an  organized  Church,  nor  a  proud  priesthood,  nor 
a  set  of  written  documents,  but  the  small  band  of 
disciples  whom  He  had  Himself  prepared  to  carry  on 
the  work  He  came  to  start.  In  the  fierce  controversies 
of  the  present  age  it  may  help  us  to  remember  this. 
Christ  lived  and  His  salvation  was  proclaimed  before 
any  part  of  the  New  Testament  was  put  into  writing. 

14 


THE  DISCIPLES  16 

Men  found  rest  and  peace,  and  salvation  in  Jesus 
Christ,  before  there  was  a  Christian  Church,  a  Chris- 
tian  ministry,  or  Christian  Scriptures  If  the  New 
Testament  should  suddenly  be  lost,  and  the  organized 
Christian  Church  be  destroyed,  men  would  still  find 
salvation;  for  the  Spirit  of  God  is  in  the  world  and 
moves  upon  the  hearts  of  men  and  guides  them  into 
the  way  of  peace. 

THE  apostles',  PREACHING. 

On  the  day  of  Pentecost  the  disciples  received  their 
full  equipment  as  witnesses  for  Jesus  and  preachers 
of  the  glad  tidings  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Begin- 
ning at  Jerusalem,  they  went  forth  to  many  lands  to 
publish  the  good  tidings  of  great  joy  which  God  had 
made  known  for  all  men.  With  their  own  lips,  and 
not  out  of  books,  they  told  the  story  of  their  Lord's 
life;  of  His  death;  and  His  glorious  resurrection  and 
ascension  into  heaven.  Out  of  their  own  experience 
and  knowledge  they  spake  the  things  concerning 
their  Lord.  They  declared  what  they  had  seen,  and 
heard  and  felt  of  the  love  of  God. 

Men  believed  the  gospel  which  they  heard.  In 
many  places  they  came  together  for  worship  and 
being  of  one  heart  and  mind  formed  Christian  church- 
es for  mutual  help,  long  before  the  Gospels  and  Epis- 
tles were  written. 

What  need  had  the  disciples  and  their  companions 


16  CHRIST  BEFORE  THE  GOSPELS 

of  written  documents  at  all?  Had  not  they  been  the 
companions,  the  pupils,  and  friends  of  the  Master? 
Three  of  them  had  seen  His  glory  on  the  Mount  of 
Transfiguration.  Some  were  present  when  He  called 
Lazarus  from  the  grave.  Many  saw  Him  on  the 
cross.  Had  they  not  also  seen  Him  alive  after  Hip 
resurrection  and  witnessed  His  ascension  to  heaven? 

THE  APOSTLES  LIVING  WITNESSES. 

The  living  witness  was  better  than  any  written  testi- 
mony. Writing  could  not  describe  the  looks,  the  ten- 
derness, the  pathos,  the  sympathy,  the  patience,  the 
mercy,  the  pity,  and  the  deep  love  of  our  Lord,  as 
could  the  witnesses  which  He  Himself  had  chosen 
and  fitted  for  this  work. 

But  as  time  went  on  great  changes  came.  The  lit- 
tle company  of  the  Apostles,  the  original  witnesses,  be- 
gan to  decrease.  Some  were  killed,  and  others  were 
growing  old.  So  long  as  they  remained,  and  could 
have  access  to  the  churches,  all  went  well.  But  as 
Christianity  spread,  and  the  churches  grew  up  far 
apart  from  each  other,  and  the  Apostolic  band 
diminished,  it  was  only  natural  that  the  converts 
should  be  anxious  to  have  the  precious  words  they 
had  heard  put  into  permanent  form,  so  that  they 
might  hand  them  on  to  all  who  should  follow  them. 

A   PERMANENT    KBCORD. 

And  the  disciples  themselves  would  be  anxious  to 


A  PERMAMENT  RECORD  17 

have  the  story  put  into  writing  that  it  might  endure. 
They  came  to  know  that  the  Gospel  they  had  to 
preach  was  for  all  men  of  all  time. 

When  the  Holy  Spirit  led  them  to  see  this  it 
naturally  followed  that  they  would  desire  the  continu- 
ance of  the  story  of  their  Master,  which  it  had  been 
the  business  of  their  life  to  tell. 

These  were,  doubtless,  the  circumstances  which 
ied  many,  as  Luke  tells  us,  to  take  in  hand  to  set 
forth  in  order  a  declaration  of  those  things  which 
were  most  surely  believed  among  them,  as  those 
who  were  ministers  of  the  Word,  and  eye-witnesses 
from  the  first,  had  declared  them.  Thus  the  Gospels 
sprang  up. 

THE  WRITING  OF  THE  EPISTLES. 

Then,  too,  many  of  the  churches  which  the  Apostles 
had  planted  in  different  places  called  for  special  com- 
munications from  their  founders.  Disturbances  in 
some  of  the  churches,  unfaithfulness  in  others,  the 
generosity  of  others,  and  the  needs  of  many, 
caused  the  despatch  of  letters,  all  more  or  less  em- 
bodying the  teaching  of  Jesus,  and  containing 
statements  concerning  the  mind  and  will  of  God, 
and  filled  with  precepts  and  principles  governing 
the  duty  of  Christian  men  and  women.  All  these 
writings  were  highly  prized,  and  wouM  doubtless 
be  kept  as  treasures  by  the  churches  to  which  they 
were  sent. 


18  CHRIST  BEFORE  THE  GOSPELS 

Though  printing  was  then  unknown,  writing  was 
common.  It  is  quite  likely  that  many  copies  of  the 
Gospels  were  written  at  the  request  and  at  the 
expense  of  the  various  churches,  while  many  of 
them  would  doubtless  procure  copies  of  the 
letters  sent  to  the  different  churches.  All  these 
writings  would  be  regarded  as  precious  treasures 
by  the  various  bodies  which  held  them,  and 
be  deposited  in  safe  keeping  together  with  their 
copies  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  all  con- 
sidered and  treated  as  sacred  books.  It  is  certain 
that  at  a  very  early  period  some  churches  had 
possessed  themselves  not  only  of  copies  of  the 
Gospels,  but  also  of  most  of  the  Apostolic  Epistles. 

It  is  the  story  of  some  of  these  precious  documents 
that  we  have  to  tell,  so  that  we  may  tnow  from 
whence  our  New  Testament  came. 

We  shall  have  to  go  back  step  by  step  right  to  the 
fountain-head.  We  will  begin  by  looking  at  three  of 
the  oldest  Bibles  in  the  world;  then  we  will  notice 
some  of  the  ancient  fathers  of  the  church ;  then  we 
will  go  back  a  generation  and  learn  something  of  the 
Apostolic  Fathers;  and  lastly,  we  will  glance  at 
some  ancient  versions  of  the  Scriptures:  we  desire  to 
see  what  they  have  to  say  to  us  as  to  our  ques- 
tion— Where  did  our  Bible  come  from? 


ni. 

THE  THREE  OLDEST  BIBLES  IN  THE 
WORLD. 

WANT  to  take  you  now  to  see  three 
of  the  oldest  Bibles  in  the  world. 
They  are  all  written  in  Greek  and 
are  very  ancient.  The  names  by 
which  they  are  known  are  "  The 
Alexandrian''  MS.,  ''The  Vat- 
ican'' MS.,  and  '' Sinaitic"  MS. 

These  three  faded  old  books  are  very  precious 
indeed,  and  are  very  carefully  treasured  by  the 
nations  who  possess  them.  It  is  rather  remarkable 
that  they  now  belong  to  the  three  great  branches  of 
the  Christian  Church,— the  Greek,  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic,  and  the  Protestant  Churches.  One  of  them,  the 
Sinaitic  (known  as  Codex  Aleph)  is  in  the  library  at 
St.  Petersburg,  and  the  Greek  Church  greatly 
prizes  it.  Another,  the  Vatican  (known  as  Codex  B) 
is  the  valued  treasure  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
and  is  in  the  Vatican  library  at  Rome.  And  another 
the  Alexandrian  (known  as  Codex  A)  is  in  the  Brit- 
ish Museum,  London,  and  is,  of  course,  very 
gireatly  prized.     I  shall  have  a  story   to   tell   about 

19 


20         THE  THREE  OLDEST  BIBLES  IN  THE  WORLD 

each  of  these  books  when  we  go  to  inspect  them;  but 
I  want  first  to  state  something  about  their  age  an(J 
how  it  is  determined. 

THE  AGE  OP  THESE  OLD  MANUSCRIPTS. 

It  is  not  very  easy  to  fix  with  certainty  the  exact 
date  at  which  they  were  written,  but  we  may  feel  sure 
that  we  are  near  the  mark  if  we  say  they  belong  to 
the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries.  If  this  be  so,  we  may 
date  them  as  from  about  the  year  301  to  450  a.  d. 

But  some  readers  may  ask:  How  do  we  know  the 
age  of  these  manuscriiDts  if  they  have  no  dates  upon 
them?  There  are  several  ways  of  getting  to  know 
this,  which  I  may  explain  in  a  few  sentences.  The 
form  of  the  letters  in  which  a  manuscript  is  written; 
the  way  in  which  the  words  are  joined  together;  and 
the  plainness  or  ornamentation  of  the  initial  letters 
— each  is  a  guide  in  fixing  the  date  of  a  Greek  docu- 
ment. 

If  you  ever  look  at  a  Greek  manuscript  and  find 
that  all  the  writing  is  in  capital  letters  and  that  the 
words  in  one  line  are  all  joined  together  without  any 
division,  you  may  conclude  that  it  is  of  a  very  great 
age.  It  will  be  written  thus,  only  in  Greek  charac- 
ters:— 

QODSOLOVEDTHEWORLDTHATHEGAVEHISONLYBEOOTTEN 
SONTHATWHOSOEVERBELIEVETHINHIMSHOULDNOTPERIS 

The  documents  written  in    this  way  are    called 


THE  VATICAN  MANUSCRIPT  21 

uncial  manuscripts,  and  are  always  ancient.  Those 
which  are  modern  are  written  in  a  running  or  flowing 
hand,  and  are  called  cursive.  All  these  three  old 
Bibles  are  uncial  manuscripts. 

If  we  could  visit  the  British  Museum  we  would  see 
many  copies  of  the  Bible  and  other  sacred  books 
with  most  beautifully  illuminated  headings  and  ini- 
tial letters.  We  would  generally  find  that  these  ara 
comparatively  modern  works.  But  the  very  ancient 
Greek  manuscripts,  of  which  there  are  many  beside 
the  three  under  notice,  are  usually  very  plain,  and 
always  in  the  uncial  style. 

I.— THE  VATICAN  MANUSCRIPT. 

Come  with  me  to  the  ancient  city  of  Rome,  that 
city  which  has  played  such  a  remarkable  part  in  the 
religious  and  civil  history  of  the  world.  If  we  have 
time  it  would  be  interesting  while  we  are  at  Rome  to 
visit  the  palace  of  the  Caesars,  and  the  house  of 
Nero.  We  might  see  the  Coliseum,  the  building  into 
which  Christians  were  flung  to  the  wild  beasts  rather 
than  part  with  their  sacred  books  or  dishonor  their 
Lord  and  Savior.  But  we  must  go  at  once  to  the 
Vatican  library. 

The  Vatican  manuscript  (Codex  B)  is  kept  here. 
This  library  was  founded  by  Nicholas  V.  about  a.  d. 
1448,  and  this  MS.  appears  in  the  first  catalogue, 
compiled  in  the  year  1475.    Nothing  is  known  of  its 


THE  THREE  OLDEST  BIBLES  IN  THE  WORLD 


"Tw  #  r  c  «u  H  ji -jro  y  c  rrfeir 

|€C  TO  nK  ^Y 1M  K  KV I  ©Y 

^^c«  K  e  uicn«r  ccUM  •ofti 
«  #c  m'j^y  t  ^X'-^Af*  TM  i  Ml 
4K(Kl  A.  K  Yn  O  YK'^l-'tMl^  AtA 

rr  »^  n  TOJiN  Ke'rx»  n^-ta." 
tk%  ^  6  r  « I  fi  r  xc  I  a.<Iy^  •^•r 

« Ul  H  K  Y P  O C'«  M  6^A  M  «ik,«f 
M t^M  M  C6  Kbff  t O CTO  Y'o 

I  W»^A»  »^  6  Y,T » cT^eiei* 

■  e  M  M  M  MC'^N  MTO  l,0 1  Ml» 
^*«>  M  H  C«<  I  X.Y^'^  ^*  '^'"' 

TH  I oy jb.Mii*i"^i c ecrT 

&Vm  y  •'•^  **  <*  »<^T^  Y*«;*y 
^rxkr  ^  cT"»  or  i^vYT^f 

M  ©T^K-l-t-jO  Y^Ki  I  *.  N  X  tM 

i^y 'rS  Y I  cf  X  i4>.o  y;tp« 

"4  Y  *!■  4*  ^*  ^  >*  t***  Tp  ri  fcw 

7Y-»-oY6MXfYc«>>^, 
?ii;rrYr»>>«'^'^*^f» 

AOJc-i^5]9.ji£xi'«Y'5x^ 

er  o  Y^  A  A  H  M-ncA « f  A-rA<3« 
c  'a  N  -re  ^6 1  iCr  IK  '^s:  Y^o' 
TiO  M  n  •CY'ti  «  w  Yh  r  \  of 4» 

CODEX  VATICANUS. 
(1  Esdras  ii.  1-8)— Fourth  century. 
(Rome,  Vatican  Library.) 
The  Bible  in  Greek,  written  in  uncial 
letters,  probably  in  the  fourth  century. 
The  text  is  arranged  in  three  columns  to 
a  page,  except  in  the  poetical  books  of 
the  Old  Testament,  which  are  written 
in  double  column.  Apparently  in  the 
tenth  century,  the  writing  was  carefully, 
but  quite  unnecessarily,  retraced  in 
darker  ink.  The  same  hand  added  the 
breathings  and  accents.  The  MS.  was 
already  in  the  Vatican  Library  in  Rome 
in  the  fifteenth  century,  but  nothing  is 
known  of  its  previous  history, 


previous  history  buit 
its  present  custodians 
have  guarded  it  with 
the  most  jealous  care, 
and  access  to  it  was  oft- 
en difficult  to  obtain. 
But  thirt}^  years  ago,. 
Pius  IX  was  the  occu- 
pant of  Peter's  chair, 
and  a  photographic 
fac  simile  was  issued. 
We  notice  that  it 
is  in  book  form,  hav- 
ing more  than  700 
leaves  about  12  in- 
ches square.  Each 
page  contains  three 
columns,  except  the 
poetical  books  of  the 
Old  Testament,  which 
are  in  double  col- 
umn; and  the  writ- 
ing is  all  in  capital 
letters.  It  is  almost 
a  complete  copy  of 
the  Bible.  It  has  lost 
Genesis,  chapters  i. 
to    xlvi.,   Psalms   cv. 


THE  SIKAITIC  MANUSCRIPT  28 

tc  cxxxvii.,   and   all   that   follows  HebrewB  ix.,    14. 

THE   OLDEST   BIBLE  KNOWN. 

As  we  look  at  this  book  we  may  conclude  that 
we  gaze  at  the  oldest  Greek  Bible  known  to  the 
world.  I  say  known  to  the  world,  because  there  may 
be  other  precious  treasures  older  even  than  this  hid 
away  among  the  rubbish  of  some  of  the  convents 
and  other  places,  some  day  to  be  brought  to  light,  as 
was  the  Sinaitic  manuscript  about  which  I  am  to 
tell  you  the  story  directly.  But  this  is  the  oldest  at 
present  known.  It  carries  us  back  probably  to  the 
beginning  of  the  fourth  century.  For  more  than  1500 
years  this  manuscript  has  been  in  the  world;  and  it  is  a 
standing  proof  that  if  our  Bible  is  an  invention,  it 
must  have  been  forged  before  the  fourth  century, 
when  this  manuscript  was  written. 

II.-THE  SINAITIC  MAmJSCRIPT. 

From  Rome,  in  Italy,  let  us  go  to  St.  Petersburg 
in  Russia.  As  we  travel  from  the  west  to  the  east, 
from  the  center  of  the  Latin  to  the  headquarters  of  the 
Greek  Church,  I  may  say  that  we  are  going  to  see 
the  famous  Sinaitic  manuscript  (  Codex  Aleph  ). 

This  is  also  in  book  form;  each  page  contains  four 
columns,  except  the  poetical  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, which  are  arranged  as  in  Codex  B.  It  is  believed 
to  be  almost,  if  not  quite,  as  ancient  as  the  Vatican 


24         THE  THREE  OLDEST  BIBLES  IN  THE  WORLD 


KXlAO(^HTXJI»CM»rr 

lllMeAlAKAITYKII 
H  KNAfeCH  TXOiMV 
KeiRKCIKe~^C6IAM 
TlXCTlf^KAlHPeC* 
•no  i  *^C1  K€l  TOri  f  K 

nk4XK>.»enoiHce 

OYTlDC 

Kxi  ^Kief  cDnoCMM 
H  "»VA  X I  o  c€  isj  coy 
cofcTH  noAei  KX; 
!'»>*  o  M  xxyrcD  M  Af 

fc'OXXiOCOTOYJV* 

fo  YTo  YC6  M  €eioy» 

jt^YKFICXIOYCK 

cpyxH  c  £e  N I  xM  eT 

OCMKIXIXMXXCII 
TOCeillHXM'HN 
IMXMAXa)TeYr6M 

•^XRoyxOAOMo 

ti>f  KXCIX6Yi'«A 
«yXVl)N»OCKXIHM 
'ITiyicDI  iKica/ei 

riYHeyi  xtkcxmi 

M  X  A  X  (LK /S  fcXv|H> y 
1 1  XTpurAYTOYKAl 

rou  M  t  >  M  X  Ayrnr 

Me'TXAAAlXlXY 
TH  CToy  cno  isJ  C I  c 
en  exeyceN  XYm\>^» 

6XY"n.L)6l  CTYKJ  Al  *^* 
KXKXJ  H  MTOKOPX 
CIOKI  KXXHTtoeiA'IfJ"^ 

KxioT^H  KoyceM^iJJ 
TT»TOYKACixecoc    ^^ 

FT fO C  TACM  XCYN M 

xeHCANrrHNno 
M  Kjnrriox6ipxrx]f- 

CODEX  SINAITICUS. 
(Esther  ii.  3-8)— Fourth  or  Fifth 
century. 

(Leipzig.  Royal  Library.) 

The  Bible  in  Greek,  written  ia 
uncial  letters,  probably  in  the 
fourth  or  fifth  century.  The  text 
is  arranged  in  four  columns  to  a 
page,  except  in  the  poetical  books 
of  the  Old  Testament,  which  are 
written  in  double  column- 


MS.  But  its  story  is  most 
remarkable.  For  genera- 
tions, perhaps  even  for  cen- 
turies, it  lay  beneath  the 
books  and  rubbish  of  a  con- 
vent, and  was  only  discov- 
ered, as  we  say,  by  an  ac- 
cident. 

There  was  a  famous  Ger- 
man scholar,  named  Dr. 
Tischendorf,  who  devoted 

tarn. 

nearly  the  whole  of  his  life 
to  searching  for  and  study- 
ing ancient  manuscripts  of 
the  Bible.  All  who  love 
the  Bible  are  placed  under 
lasting  obligations  to  him 
for  his  discoveries  and  in- 
vestigations. It  seems  that 
he  traveled  through  many 
parts  of  the  East,  search- 
ing all  the  old  libraries  in- 
to which  he  could  obtain 
access. 

MANUSCRIPT  USED  FOR 
LIGHTING   FIRES. 


In    the  year    1844    he    was    paying  a   visit  tc  St. 


A  FORTUNATE  DISCOVERY  25 

Catherine's  convent  at  the  foot  of  Mt.  Sinai,  when  he 
made  a  fortunate  discovery.  In  the  hall  of  the  con- 
vent tliere  stood  a  basket  filled  with  parchments 
ready  for  the  fire,  and  he  was  told  two  similar  basket- 
fuls  had  been  burned. 

On  examining  the  contents  of  the  basket  he  wa^ 
surprised  to  find  parchment  leaves  of  the  Greek 
Old  Testament,  the  most  ancient  he  had  ever  seen. 
He  was  unable  to  conceal  his  joy,  and  was  allowed 
to  take  away  one-third  or  about  forty^three  sheets. 
Though  the  lot  was  destined  for  the  fire,  his  joy  at 
his  discovery  roused  the  suspicions  of  the  monks,  and 
led  them  to  think  that  perhaps  the  manuscripts 
were  valuable,  and  so  they  would  not  give  him  any 
more.     Tischendorf    deposited  the    portion   in   the 

Royal  Library,  at  Leipzig,  to  which  he  gave  the  name 

***** 
of  "  Codex  Frederick  Augustus  "  in  acknowledgment 

of  the  patronage  given  to  him  by  the  King  of  Saxony. 

SUCCESSFUL   AT   LAST. 

But  in  the  year  1859,  or  about  fifteen  years  after 
his  dip  into  the  basket,  he  was  again  at  the  convent, 
armed  with  a  commission  from  the  Russian  Emperor. 
His  second  visit  promised  to  be  a  failure,  and  he 
was  about  to  depart  without  having  made  any  fresh 
discovery,  but  on  the  evening  before  he  had  ar- 
ranged to  leave,  he  was  walking  in  the  grounds 
with  the  steward   of    the   convent,  who  asked  him 


26        THE  THREE  OLDEST  BIBLES  IN  THE  WORLD 

into  his  cell  to  take  some  refreshment.  As  they  con- 
versed, the  monk  produced  a  bundle  wrapped  in 
red  cloth.  To  his  great  delight  Tischendorf  found 
not  only  some  of  the  fragments  which  he  had 
seen  before,  but  other  parts  of  the  Old  Testament, 
and  the  New  Testament  complete,  and  some  other 
writings  besides. 

After  a  while,  through  the  influence  of  the  Emperor, 
the  manuscript  was  obtained  from  the  convent  and 
brought  to  the  Imperial  Library  at  St.  Petersburg,  in 
which  we  now  see  it,  and  it  has  become  the  most 
precious  treasure  in  the  possession  of  the  Greek 
Church.'  A  fac  simile  of  this  valuable  manuscript  is 
to  be  seen  in  the  British  Museum. 

If  the  contents  of  that  one  basket  have  so  enriched 
us,  what  a  treasure  we  might  have  had  if  the  contents 
of  those  two  other  baskets  had  been  saved  from  the 
fire!  What  other  priceless  documents  are  yet  to  be 
brought  to  light  we  cannot  tell. 


'  See  ^^  How  we  got  our  Bible,''^  by  Dr.  J.  P.  Smyth;  and  ^^  Smith's 
Bible  Dictionary"  for  some  of  the  suggestions  of  this  chapter. 


7i 


IV, 

THE  THREE  OLDEST  BIBLES  IN  THE 
WORLD.— Continued. 

III.— THE  ALEXANDRIAN  MANUSCRIPT. 

ET  us  now  return  to  England  and 
visit  the  British  Museum  in  Lon- 
don. Passing  in  at  the  main  en- 
trance and  turning  to  the  right  we 
shall  soon  find  ourselves  in  the 
Manuscript  Room.  There  are  many 
cases  full  of  all  sorts  of  ancient  books,  written 
on  parchment  of  different  kinds  and  ages.  Quite 
a  number  of  them  are  copies  of  the  Bible.  Some 
are  lives  of  saints  and  others  are  on  various  subjects. 
You  cannot  but  notice  the  labor  and  skill  and  de- 
votion with  which  many  of  them  have  been  prepared. 
Pages  of  beautiful  illustrations,  numbers  of  elabo- 
rately decorated  initials  can  be  seen,  looking  as  fresh 
as  if  recently  done,  though  many  of  them  are  hun- 
dreds of  years  old. 

England's  most  treasured  manuscript. 

Our  concern  now,  however,  is  not  with  any  of 
these.  We  are  going  to  see  the  Alexandrian  Manu- 
script,— so   called  from  having  once  formed  part  of 

27 


28         THE  THREE  OLDEST  BIBLES  IN  THE  WORLD 

the  library  at  Alexandria.  This  is  the  third  oldest 
Bible  in  the  world.  It  belongs  to  England,  and  is 
not  likely  to  be  lightly  parted  with.  It  is  in  four 
volumes,  one  of  which  you  will  find  at  the  far  end 
of  the  MS.  room  in  a  case  marked  F.  If  you  speak 
to  the  Curator,  he  will  tell  you  that  large  numbers  of 
visitors  come  to  see  this  famous  old  Bible. 

You  will  notice  that  it  also  is  the  uncial  form 
of  letters,  and  has  two  col  imns  on  a  page.  In  the 
same  case  will  also  be  found  photographs  of  one  of 
the  pages  of  each  the  Sinaitic  and  Vatican  manu- 
scripts. You  will  remember  that  the  Vatican 
Bible  has  three  columns  on  a  page,  and  the  Sinaitic 
Bible  four  columns  on  a  page.  This  manuscript 
was  probably  written  about  the  middle  of  the  fifth 
century.  It  is  written  on  very  thin  vellum,  and  has 
been  in  the  possession  of  England  since  it  was 
presented  to  King  Charles  I.  in  1628  by  Cyril,  Patri- 
arch of  Constantinople. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  it  is  the  youngest  of  the 
three  old  Bibles  we  have  noticed.  It  contains  both 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  though  it  is  not  quite 
perfect.  It  is  marvelous  to  find  a  written  document 
of  such  great  age  so  perfect  as  this  is.  The  New 
Testament  seems  to  have  suffered  more  than  the  Old. 
Only 

TEN   LEAVES   ARE   MISSING 

from  the  Old  Testament;  but  the  new  has  lost  more. 


THE  ALEXANDRIAN  MANUSCRIPT 

VM I  o  X I  o  ^^  1^  fOjctn  f  X  e  ■»  Ai  «xi  np> 

rn*^  euTsT-xAO  i  •©•!  vo  v  1 1<  jkyxXjl^*^ 
<2C*iXi  KA.ii'OlrNiCL-i  Af   VI  roKfrtxi 
•rxjrnTiA^canTOMiMCri  ici^ajt^T 
o  vr^  o  yo  iA>.^rBA04<  I  Mxarc  i  r«i 

vJL  >  o  rA  fvrrx  f  tj  J  o  n.f  e-rxn  xivxMT^ 
.^1  KOVooYCSTiKf  xoisTx  et»«Vr« 

^ix^yi  x>v  py«  w  TTo-re  i,<XT*oVf  •  • 
.  oenrYOcrt'Ors*  KP  |-|*H  r^-i^XKkKfi 
-r  irf  o  eerra^  r  A^^Alme  |-txjunr««f  «<i*r ' 
iCMCTnpxKf  <!>»  ce  ff  Jsx»«eica»vMb 

«d  ive  f  €»et«eiJLKrix>Y  Kxri^f>4oc 

5^  J  :M»ricJ^rc«eTeiMeoer4ji^u9 
r  ^cjlT  uxf  f  a^xrrxrre  juu3rsrr8sCMni» 
^T'e  f  rrjU}i^«€*2kXtxxi4UrTa>ff«rro  * 

XI M  Ai  ro  ('%>:i-OQ6tw«J2CMr  MGT* 

Kfioe  icoicernr«>*iLVToxc  •» 
-Si^p  •<oi-rxf  orr#otrJUkiiwj.foioVio« 
xM  x»*rcL>xorFtft.f  jnTrxtsri-sKCtcT^ 
f 'XX  •  Vtioyx?cn9NOf>rTO'iyv*ri»f 
<xY*f 'X-rrOT-to^AO  AC  I  f^Ovx#xer\*« 
Stk^  f  rsr  X  xx-ex^^  »^  rtKfCT-A,r40j^crf 
^me  T7'x>4 •  ro C ol^c xvirxiXTXT wj'aw< 
^  e4  <e  I  r^  O I  o  cAG^iOwKxio  ^ox&>* 

echovceri  c  ccimoti  vproecr* 

Tvrvcixci>XK^  -KX I  XrT€lti-\Xllt>tQfm 

CODEX  ALEXANDRINUS 

(Sfc.  Luke  xii.  54-xiii.  4)— Fifth  century. 

(British  Museum,  Royal  MS,  r.  D.  v-viii.) 

The  Bible  In  Greek,  written  in  uncial  letters  in  the  fifth 
century.  The  text  is  arranged  in  two  columns  to  a  page. 
It  once  belonged  to  the  Patriarchal  Chamber  of  Alexandria 
(whence  its  name),  and  was  probably  carried  away  bjr 
Cyril  Lucar,  Patriarch  of  Alexandria,  who  became  Patri. 
arch  of  Constantinople  in  1621.  Cyril  sent  it  as  a  present 
to  Kttxg  Charles  the  First  in  1628.  It  came  into  tlae  pos* 
session  of  the  British  Museum  with  the  rest  of  the  Royal 
MSS. 


f^ 


80         THE  THREE  OLDEST  BIBLES  IN  THE  WORLD 

T wen ty= five  leaves  have  gone  from  the  Gospel  by 
Matthew,  two  from  the  Gospel  by  John,  and  three 
from  Corinthians. 

We  have  now  seen  these  three  remarkable  manu- 
scripts all  written,  say  1500  years  ago.  It  is  not 
possible  to  estimate  their  value  to  Bih^  students. 
They  carry  us  back  at  once  to  remote  ages,  and  help 
very  considerably  in  showing  us  where  our  Bible 
came  from.  As  we  look  at  them  we  are  at  once  put 
in  touch  with  men  who  lived  at  the  beginning  of  the 
fourth  century.  Though  in  our  study  of  ancient 
versions  of  the  Scriptures  we  shall  get  much  nearer 
to  the  Apostles  and  to  our  Lord  than  these  three  old 
Greek  munuscripts  carry  us,  we  still  have  in  them  a 
rich  boon.  They  link  us  with  the  Christian  fathers 
of  the  early  centuries,  and  clearly  show  that  their 
Scriptures  and  ours  are  the  same. 

THESE    MSS.    INACCESSIBLE    TO   KING    JAMES' 
TRANSLATORS. 

It  is  quite  worthy  of  note  that  the  scholarly  men 
who  in  the  reign  of  King  James  made  our  Authorized 
English  Bible,  had  no  access  to  these  three  valuable 
old  documents.  The  Vatican  manuscript  was  at 
Rome,  and  the  Pope  of  that  day  was  not  the  man  to 
let  Protestants  have  the  use  of  this  book.  The 
Sinai  tic  manuscript  was  buried  in  the  convent  at 
Sinai,  and  its  existence  was  not  known  to  the  Com- 
pany of  Revisers.     And  the  Alexandrian  manuscript 


A  LINK  WITH  THE  EARLY  CHRISTIANS  31 

was  received  in  England  about  seventeen  years  after 
the  authorized  revisers  had  done  their  work.  The 
scholars  who  have  prepared  our  excellent  Revised 
Bible  were  fortunate.  All  these  three  old  manu- 
scripts  were  at  their  disposal. 

CODEX  EPHRAEM. 

If  this  chapter  is  not  already  tedious  let  us  exam- 
ine at  least  one  other  ancient  manuscript,  which  is  in 
the  Library  at  Paris.  It  is  called  the  Codex  of  Eph- 
raem.  It  is  believed  to  be  nearly  as  old  as  the  Alex- 
andrian manuscript,  if  not  a  little  older.  It  was 
brought  from  the  East  to  Florence  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  and  in  the  middle  of  that  same  century 
reached  Paris. 

At  first  sight  it  does  not  seem  to  be  of  much  val- 
ue, for  its  writing  is  in  the  cursive  style  and  is 
comparatively  modern.  But  as  we  will  look  at  it  a  lit- 
tle more  carefully  we  will  see  that  under  the  modem 


CODEX  EPHRAU4  (PORTION  OF  I.  TIM.,  iu.  l6> 

writing  there  are  traces  of  writing  in  the  uncial  or 


32         THE  THREE  OLDEST  BIBLES  IN  THE  WORLD 

ancient  style.  The  parchment  is  doubly  written 
upon.  This  kind  of  manuscript  is  called  a 
Palimpsest,  which  means  written  twice.  There  are 
many  documents  of  this  kind.  It  would  seem,  in 
order  to  save  cost  of  parchment,  the  writers  would 
rub  out  as  well  as  they  could  the  first  writing,  and 
then  use  the  sheets  for  writing  other  matter  upon. 
It  \\dll  at  once  be  obvious  that  the  ancient  rubbed =out 
writing  must  in  many  cases  have  been  far  more  valu- 
able than  the  second  or  more  modern  writing.  This 
was  particularly  so  with  the  Codex  of  Ephraem,  as 
the  next  few  lines  will  show. 

HOW  THE  OLDEK  WRITING  WAS  DECIPHERED. 

The  story  of  this  precious  manuscript  is  briefly 
this.  It  seems  that  about  the  twelfth  century  some 
one  took  this  parchment  and  scraped  and  rubbed  it 
to  clear  out  the  old  writing,  in  order  to  make  it  fit  for 
use  again.  When  this  was  done  the  skins  were  used 
to  write  on  them  some  discourses  of  Ephraem,  a  Syrian 
father  of  the  fourth  century,  not  one-thousandth 
part  as  valuable  as  the  writing  which  had  first  been 
on  the  parchment.  The  old  writing  had  not  been 
completely  rubbed  out.  Attention  was  drawn  to  it  a 
long  time  ago,  and  efforts  were  made  to  read  the  faint 
writing.  About  sixty  years  ago  chemicals  were  ap- 
plied to  the  manuscript.  The  effect  of  this  appli- 
cation   was  twofold;   it   much  stained  and  spoiled 


TEE  WRITING  RESTORED 


88 


TV 

HEBREW  MS. 
(Exod.  XX.  1-5)— Written  earlier  than 
A.  D.  916. 
(British  Museum,  Add.  MS,  4445.) 

Portions  of  tlie  Pentateuch.  The 
text  is  arranged  in  two  columns  to 
the  page,  and  is  accompanied  by  the 
Massorah  Magna  and  Parva. 

The  conclusion  to  which 


the  vellum,  but  it  re- 
vived a  good  part  of  the 
old  uncial  writings,  and 
it  was  found  to  contain 
considerable  portions  of 
the  Old  Testament,  and 
fragments  of  each  hook 
of  the  New  Testament, 

NUMEROUS  OTHER   MS& 
IN   EXISTENCE. 

Though  we  have  only 
examined  four  of  these 
ancient  manuscripts, 
there  are  large  numbers 
of  others  beside.  It  is 
stated  that  in  the  uncial 
style  there  are  127  and 
in  the  cursiveBiyie  1,463. 
As  time  goes  on  greater 
attention  will  be  paid  to 
many  of  these,  and  no 
doubt  we  shall  get  much 
additional  light  upon 
the  Bible  as  the  result 
of  their  study.  * 
we  are  brought  by  the  ex« 


'See  "  Smith'H  Bible  Dictionary. 


84         THE  THREE  OLDEST  BIBLES  IN  THE  WORLD 

amination  of  these  old  Bibles  is,  that  our  Bible  was  in 
existence  when  these  books  were  written.  Our  New 
"Testament,  therefore,  must  have  come  from  somte 
earlier  source.    Let  us  take  our  next  step. 


THE  ANCIENT  FATHERS  OF  THE 
CHURCH, 

ANY  years  ago,  says  Thomas  Cooper, 
a  party  of  scholarly  men  met  at  a 
dinner-party.  During  the  conver- 
sation, some  one  in  the  party  put 
a  question  which  no  one  present 
was  able  to  answer.  The  ques- 
tion was  this: — 

Suppose  that  the  New  Testament  had  been  de. 
stroyed,  and  every  copy  of  it  lost  by  the  end  of  the 
third  century,  could  it  have  been  collected  together 
again  from  the  writings  of  the  Fathers  of  the  second 
and  third  centuries? 

The  question  startled  the  company;  but  all  were 
silent.  Two  months  afterwards  one  of  the  company 
called  upon  Sir  David  Dalrymple,  who  had  been  pres- 
ent at  the  dinner.  Pointing  to  a  table  covered  with 
books,  Sir  David  said:  "Look  at  those  books.  You 
remember  the  question  about  the  New  Testament  and 
the  Fathers?  That  question  roused  my  curiosity,  and 
as  I  possessed  all  the  existing  works  of  the  Fathers  of 
♦he  second   and   third  centuries,   I    commenced   to 

35 


86  THE  ANCIENT  FATHERS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

search,  and  up  to  this  time  I  have  found  the  entire 
New  Testament,  except  eleven  verses. 

It  must  be  quite  clear  to  every  person  that  when 
these  Ancient  Fathers  lived  and  wrote  their  books, 

OUR  NEW  TESTAMENT  WAS  IN  EXISTENCE, 

or  they  could  not  have  made  such  copious  extracts 
from  it  as  they  did.  Many  of  the  books  they  wrote 
have  been  lost  in  the  passing  of  the  ages,  and  only  a 
comparative  few  have  reached  us  But  if  the  entire 
New  Testament  is  to  be  found  in  such  writings  as 
have  come  down  to  us,  we  must  conclude  that  the 
sacred  Scriptures  were  not  only  known  among  them, 
but  were  their  constant  companion,  their  meat  and 
drink,  their  precious  treasure  of  the  Word  of  Life — 
as  is  the  case  with  us  to=day. 

In  further  illustration  of  this  I  may  mention  just 
one  fact  in  connection  with  one  of  the  ancient  Fathers 
named  Origen.  This  man  was  a  most  active  scholar, 
and  occupied  an  important  place  in  the  Church.  He 
was  born  in  the  year  185,  A.  D.  He  wrote  many  books, 
only  a  few  of  which  have  survived  the  ravages 
of  time.  But  we  are  told  that  in  a  few  of  his 
works  which  have  come  down  to  us,  two4hirdB  of  the 
New  Testament  can  be  found.  This  is  a  most  note- 
worthy fact. 

It  would  make  these  chapters  very  long  if  I  were  to 
give  some  account  of  all  the  Fathers  of  the  first  three 


TERTULLIAN 

centuries  which  are  known  to  us.  I  must  leare  those 
who  desire  fuller  information  to  pursue  their  studies 
through  the  usual  channels,  and  will  content  myself 
by  selecting  and  naming  only  a  few.  Those  whom  I 
shall  introduce  will  be  men  each  of  whom  lived  in  the 
second  and  third  centuries.  Among  them  were  some 
who  lived  when  men  were  alive  who  had  heard  and 
seen  the  writers  of  our  sacred  books,  and  conversed 
with  them  about  some  of  the  august  facts  concerning 
our  Lord's  life  and  works,  and  some  of  them  even  the 
friends  of  the  Apostles  themselves. 

THREE  EARLY  FATHERS. 

In  the  year  175,  three  very  eminent  Fathers  were 
alive.  They  are  known  as  Irenaeus,  Tertullian,  and 
Clement  of  Alexandria.  I  want  to  give  you  a  very 
short  account  of  each  of  these  three;  and  it  is  impor- 
tant to  note  the  valuable  testimony  which  they  bear 
to  the  existence,  in  their  day,  of  the  New  Testament — 
our  New  Testament,  observe.  They  lived  in  different 
parts  of  the  world,  moved  among  different  circum- 
stances, but  all  bear  most  valued  testimony  to  the 
place  and  authority  of  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  in 
their  day. 

TERTULLIAN. 

Tertullian  was  born  at  Carthage,  in  Africa,  about 
the  year  150,  a.  d.  His  father  was  a  Koman 
jfenturion,    and     Tertullian     was    blessed    with    r 


m  THE  ANCIENT  FATHERS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

found  education  in  th©  religion  of  his  heathen  parents. 
Philosophy,  history,  and  law  were  subjects  in 
which  he  took  much  delight.  He  grew  up  to 
manhood  before  his  conyersion  to  Christianity, 
and  was  probably  forty  years  of  age  before  that 
important  event  took  place.  He  was  a  man  of 
profound  mind,  ardent  and  deep  feeling,  and  a 
voluminous  writer.  This  scholarly  lawyer  made 
great  use  of  the  New  Testament.  He  ascribes  the 
four  Gospels  to  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  Job  a. 
His  works  which  are  known  to  us  have  been  care- 
fully examined,  and  it  is  found  that  he  makes  2,500 
references  to  the  New  Testament.  Of  these  700  are 
references  to  the  Gospels,  and  of  these,  again,  200 
are  to  the  Gospel  by  St.  John.  He  quotes  from  every 
chapter  in  Matthew,  Luke  and  John.  He  was  the  first 
to  introduce  the  phrase  "New  Testament,"  and  the 
first  of  the  fathers  who  wrote  in  Latin, 

IRENiBUS. 

Irenaeus  was  another  type  of  man  who  lived  in 
another  part  of  the  world  and  had  entirely  different 
surroundings.  He  was  probably  born  in  the  year 
130,  A.  D.,  and  was  a  native  of  Asia  Minor.  He 
had  the  unspeakable  advantage  of  being  a  disciple  of 
Papias  and  Polycarp,  the  disciples  and  friends  of  the 
Apostle  John.  It  is  not  quite  clear  how  or  when  he 
same  to  leave  his  birthplace,  but  we  know  him  chiefl,» 


CLEMENT  OF  ALEXANDRIA  39 

for  his  connection  with  the  Christian  church  at 
Lyons  He  was  presbyter  of  the  church  there  dur- 
ing the  time  of  a  fierce  persecution  under  Marcus 
Aurelius  the  Roman  Emperor.  The  aged  bishop  of 
the  church,  named  Ponthinus,  died  in  prison  in  the 
year  177,  and  Irenseus  succeeded  him. 

In  his  writings  he  used  the  New  Testament  with 
great  freedom  indeed.  He  attributes  the  four  Gospels 
to  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John.  He  argues  that 
there  were  four  and  could  be  no  more  than  four  Gos- 
pels. In  his  known  works  he  makes  twelve  hundred 
references  to  the  New  Testament.  Of  this  number 
four  hundred  are  to  the  Gospels;  he  makes  eighty 
references  to  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  alone. 

CLEMENT   OF   ALEXANDRIA. 

From  Gaul  we  pass  to  Alexandria,  that  we  may  get 
a  short  notice  of  Clement,  of  that  city.  The  early 
history  of  the  church  in  Alexandria  is  not  very  certain. 
Tradition  has  said  that  Mark  was  the  founder  of  it. 
Be  that  as  it  may,  we  know  that  Alexandria  early 
became  an  important  center — noted  for  its  scholars, 
its  library,  and  its  university.  It  was  the  meetings 
place  of  men  of  all  nations.  Christianity  early  took 
root  in  this  city,  and  famous  Christian  schools  were 
established. 

Clement  was  probably  born  about  the  year  165, 
A-   D>      Like  Tertullian,  he    grew    to   manhood   be- 


THE  ANCIENT  FATHERS  OF  THE  CHURCH 

fote  he  became  a  Christian.  He  was  a  great  scholar, 
and  presided  over  a  most  famous  school  of  thought  at 
this  center  of  active  life  and  culture.  He  was  a  man  of 
wide  intelligence,  and  broad  sympathies.  Within  one 
hundred  years  of  the  death  of  the  Af)ostles  of  our 
Lord,  he  was  working  and  teaching,  and  accepted  as 
genuine  and  authentic  the  Gospels  as  we  accept  them. 
He  mentions  Matthew,  Luke,  Mark,  and  John  by 
name,  and  places  them  in  the  order  here  last  named. 
He  makes  three  hundred  and  twenty  references  to 
the  New  Testament  in  his  works  which  we  have. 

This  is  the  testimony  which  these  three  ancient 
Fathers  bear  to  our  sacred  Book.  Living  in  different 
centres  of  life  and  thought,  they  yet  all  had  our  New 
Testament.  They  used  it  not  simply  as  a  private 
book,  but  as  the  recognized  Scripture  of  the  churches 
with  which  they  each  lived  and  worked.  It  must  be 
quite  clear  that  our  Bible  came  from  men  who  lived 
before  they  did;  and  as  one  of  these  men  was  a 
scholar  at  the  feet  of  Polycarp,  the  disciple  of  St, 
John,  we  need  but  to  go  back  one  step  more  and  we 
are  with  the  Apostles.  We  want  but  ong_  more  link, 
and  our  chain  of  evidence,  reaching  from  the  Bible 
lying  on  my  desk  as  I  write,  to  the  hands  of  the  in- 
spired men  who  wrote  the  New  Testament  portion  of 
it,  is  complete.  We  will  try  to  supply  that  one  link 
in  our  next  chapterj  and  thus  clasp  hands  with  the 
Apostles. 


VI. 
THE  APOSTOLIC  FATHERS. 

I  ROM  the  Early  Fathers  we  step 
back  to  the  Apostolic  Fathers.  By 
the  Apostolic  Fathers  I  here  mean 
men  wuo  were  alive  before  the  last 
of  the  apostles  had  passed  away. 
They  were  the  friends  of  the  friends 
of  our  Lord;  men  who  had  heard  the  story  of  our 
Lord's  life  from  the  lips  of  His  own  disciples  them- 
selves, and  from  many  of  the  intimate  and  close 
friends  of  these. 

CLEMENT   OF   EOME,  POLYCARP,   AND   PAPIAS. 

Here  again  I  select  three:  Clement  of  Rome, 
Polycarp,  and  Papias.  In  the  last  chapter  we  were 
considering  the  writings  of  about  the  year  175,  A.  D. 
Now  let  us  go  a  hundred  years  farther  back  still,  and 
fix  in  our  minds  the  year  75,  A.  D.  All  these  three 
men  were  born  before  this  date.  Polycarp  may  have 
been  about  five  years  of  age,  Papias  perhaps  fifteen 
years  of  age,  and  Clement  a  man,  but  of  what  age  I 
am  unable  to  say. 

In  this  year,  75,  A.  d.,  it  is  important  to  remember 

that  one   of  the  Lord's  disciples  was  still  alive,  and 

41 


42  THE  APOSTOLIC  FATHERS 

perhaps  others.  St.  John  was  bishop  of  the  church 
at  Ephesus.  His  friend  Andrew  who  went  with  him 
to  Asia  Minor,  and  also  Philip  who  settled  at  Hier. 
apolis,  may  also  have  been  alive  at  this  time. 
Jerusalem  had  been  destroyed  five  years  previous- 
ly. The  Apostle  Paul  had  written  his  Epistles 
some  years  before  this  date  on  which  we  fix, 
and  had  now  for  some  years  been  in  the  enjoyment 
of  that  "  Crown  of  Life  "  which  he  tells  us  the  Lord 
has  laid  up  for  the  faithful  in  heaven.  All  the  New 
Testament,  with  the  exception  of  the  later  writings  of 
John,  was  in  the  possession  of  the  churches. 
CLEMENT  OP  ROME. 
When  the  Apostle  Paul  was  a  prisoner  at  Rome, 
he  was  very  poor  and  in  needy  circumstances.  One 
of  the  churches  which  he  had  planted — that  at 
Philippi — made  a  collection  for  him,  and  sent  it  to 
him  with  good  wishes  and  prayers.  Their  kindness 
to  him  at  such  a  time  touched  his  heart,  and  drew 
from  him  many  kind  words.  He  wrote  them  an  af- 
fectionate letter  which  has  been  preserved  and  has  a 
place  in  our  New  Testament  as  the  Epistle  to  the 
Philippians,  It  stands  among  his  many  letters  as  one 
of  the  most  tender,  gentle,  loving,  and  peaceful  of 
them  all,  In  the  fourth  chapter  and  the  third  verse 
he  mentions  a  fellow=laborer  whose  name  is  Clement. 
John  is  thought  by  some  to  be  identical  with 
Clement  of  Rome. 


CLEMENT  OF  ROME  48 

We  have  no  reliable  history  to  inform  us  of 
the  early  life  of  Clement,  just  as  we  have  but  little 
to  tell  us  of  the  early  life  of  our  Lord's  disciples,' 
and  of  the  Lord  Himself.  In  all  probability  he  was 
a  Jewish  convert  to  Christianity,  as  were  Paul  and 
many  of  the  leaders  of  the  Christian  Church  in  the 
first  century.  But  though  we  know  so  little  of  his 
origin,  we  are  not  left  in  doubt  as  to  his  manhood 
and  later  life.  He  was  an  immediate  disciple  of  the 
disciples  of  our  Lord.  He  was  the  friend  of  several 
of  them,  knew  them,  was  acquainted  with  their  writ- 
ings, and  occupied  a  most  important  and  influential 
position  in  the  church. 

POSSIBLY   THE   AUTHOR   OF   THE   HEBREWS. 

Many  have  thought  that  Clement  was  the  author  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  and  some  have  said  that 
he  wrote  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  It  is  certain  that 
many  other  works  were  ascribed  to  him;  so  great  and 
influential  was  his  place  and  name.  He  was  third 
Bishop  of  Rome  and  such  has  been  the  respect 
in  which  his  name  and  memory  have  been  held, 
that  almost  a  score  of  the  Bishops  or  Popes  of 
Rome  have  taken  and  used  his  name.  At  what 
exact  date  he  died  it  is  not  easy  to  say.  Euseb- 
ius,  a  learned  man,  who  was  born  in  the  year  260,  A.  D., 
and  died  about  the  year  340,  a.  d.,  tells  a  little  aboul 
Clement.  This  man,  Eusebius,  was  the  most  famous 
of  scholarly  men  in  the  church  in  his  day.     Ho  wrote 


li  rHE  APOSTOLIC  FATHERS 

a  history  of  the  church  from  the  Apostolic  times  to 
his  own.  In  this  chronicle  he  places  the  death  of 
Clement  in  the  year  95,  a.  d. 

If  this  be  correct,  Clement  was  the  Bishop  of  Rome 
at  the  same  time  that  John  was  Bishop  at  Ephesus. 
How  many  of  the  disciples  he  knew  we  cannot  say; 
but  it  is  certain  that  he  was  the  friend  of  several. 
He  would  thus  be  in  a  most  favored  position  for 
knowing  what  was  the  teaching  of  the  Apostles  re* 
specting  our  Lord's  life  and  death,  the  account  of 
which  we  have  in  our  Gospels.  And  he  would  know 
of  the  other  parts  of  the  New  Testament  if  they  were 
then  in  existence.  Have  we  any  evidence  that  he  did 
know  of  the  New  Testament?    Let  us  see. 


Clement  wrote  an  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  which 
fortunately  is  preserved  to  us  to  this  day.  We  have 
examined  the  precious  old  Bible  called  the  Alexan- 
drian Manuscript,  the  famous  Codex  A.,  which 
is  in  the  British  Museum,  and  which  was  writ- 
ten about  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century. 
Bound  up  with  the  New  Testament  volume  of  that 
priceless  treasure  is  to  be  found  with  other  inspired 
writings  the  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  which  Clem- 
ent wrote.  It  has  been  translated  into  English 
and  is  now  published  together  with  the  Epistle 
of  Barnabas  and  the  Shepherd  of  Hermas. 


CLEMENTS  EPISTLE  TO  THE  CORINTHIANS         45 

If  you  get  it  and  read  it  through  you  will  find  that 
it  is  saturated  with  the  language  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. In  its  doctrine,  the  style  in  which  it  is  written, 
and  its  general  thought,  it  is  unquestionably  based 
upon  the  New  Testament.  A  copy  of  it  lies  before 
me  and  I  have  just  been  reading  it  again,  and  say 
without  hesitation  that  it  could  never  have  been 
written  by  any  man  who  did  not  know  the  New 
Testament  as  it  was  spoken  and  written  by  the 
disciples  and  Apostles  of  our  Lord.  It  contains 
the  words  of  Peter,  James,  John,  and  Luke:  It  has 
passages  based  upon  the  Epistles  to  the  tlomans, 
Corinthians,  Thessalonians,  Ephesians,  Timothy, 
Titus,  of  James,  of  Peter,  to  the  Hebrews,  and  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

Here,  then,  is  another  and  most  valuable  link  in 
the  chain  of  evidence  which  shows  that  our  New 
Testament  came  from  the  disciples  and  Apostles  of 
our  Lord.  It  confirms  me  in  the  faith  that  my  New 
Testament  is  the  same  in  substance  which  the  church 
in  the  first  century  possessed.  For  if  the  disciples 
had  not  spoken  and  written  the  contents  of  the 
New  Testament  in  those  years  of  the  first  century 
Clement  could  not  possibly  have  written  in  their 
language.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  overestimate 
the  importance  of  the  writings  of  these  ancient  saints 
and  fathers.  The  testimony  which  they  bear  to  the 
existence  of  our  Gospels  and  Epistles  is  such  that, 


46  THE  APOSTOLIC  FATHERS 

whether  we  believe  them  or  disbelieve  them,  we  are 
forced  to  admit  that  the  Gospels  and  Epistles  were  in 
existence,  or  these  Fathers  could  not  have  quoted 
them  in  the  language  in  which  they  are  written  as 
they  have  done.  This  will  be  more  apparent  and 
convincing  when  we  have  added  the  testimony  of 
Polycarp  and  Papias  to  that  of  Clement. 


VIT. 

POLYCARP  THE  DISCIPLE  OF   JOHN. 

lOLYOARP'S  name  does  not  occur 
in  the  New  Testament,  but  there 
are  few  of  us  who  have  not  heard 
the  story  of  his  famous  rejoinder 
to  his  persecutors.  Brought  before 
the  Roman  pro=Consul  at  Smyrna, 
he  was  given  an  opportunity  of  recanting  while  the 
fire  was  being  prepared  which  was  to  consume  his 
body.  Urged  by  his  judge,  who  was  moved  by  Poly- 
carp's  extreme  age,  to  curse  Christ  and  so  spare  his 
life,  he  nobly  answered:  "  Eighty  and  six  years  have 
I  served  Him,  and  He  never  did  me  any  wrong:  how 
can  I  blaspheme  my  King  and  my  Savior?" 

Polycarp  was  born  about  the  year  70,  A.  D.  He 
had  the  advantage  of  Christian  training,  and  was 
instructed  in  the  Christian  faith  from  childhood. 
He  became  Bishop  of  Smyi'na.  The  Church  at 
Smyrna  was  one  of  the  seven  named  in  the  Book 
of  Revelation,  and  of  which  it  was  foretold  that 
"  some  should  be  cast  into  prison."  He  was  put  to 
death  as  a  martyr  about  the  year  156,  A.  D.,  being 

burned  alive  for  his  faithfulness  to  Jesus  Christ. 

47 


48  POLYCARP  THE  DISCIPLE  OF  JOHN 

Poiycarp  was  a  disciple  of  John,  and  was,  some 
say,  made  bishop  and  set  over  the  Church  at  Smyrna 
by  the  Apostle  himself.  If  this  be  so,  he  must  have 
early  distinguished  himself  for  his  piety  and  devotion 
to  religion. 

Smyrna  was  not  far  from  Ephesus.  The  Apostle 
Paul  made  a  long  stay  at  Ephesus,  and  only  left  it  a 
few  years  before  Poiycarp  was  born.  About  the  date 
of  his  birth  the  Apostle  John  and  several  other  dis- 
ciples settled  in  Asia  Minor,  John  becoming  the 
Bishop  of  the  Church  at  Ephesus.  Though  Paul  was 
dead  at  the  birth  of  Poiycarp,  the  memory  of  the 
great  Apostle  would  linger  long  in  the  district  of 
Ephesus  among  the  churches  which  he  planted,  and 
with  which  he  was  so  closely  associated. 

In  Poiycarp,  then,  we  have  another 

MOST  VALUABLE  LINK  IN  OUE  CHAIN. 

If  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  were  in  existence 
he  would  certainly  have  known  of  it.  And  if  we  find 
that  he  did  know  then  we  may  accept  his  testimony 
as  important  and  undeniable. 

It  seems  that  Polyfcarp  wrote  several  Epistles 
to  neighboring  churches  and  some  to  private 
individuals;  but  with  one  exception  all  these  have 
perished,  and  we  now  scarcely  know  their  names. 
The  one  exception  is  a  valuable  letter  which  he 
Bent   to  the   church    at   Philippi,  and  which    opens 


THE  PHILIPPIAN  LETTER  4» 

with  the  following  sentence:—"  Poly  carp  and  the 
presbyters  that  are  with  him,  to  the  Church  of  God 
at  Philippi:  Mercy  unto  you,  and  peace,  from  God 
Almighty,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  our  Savior,  be 
multiplied." 

We  are  very  thankful  that  this  letter  has  escaped 
the  ravages  of  time,  and  exists  to-day  as  standing 
evidence  that  when  Polycarp  lived  our  New  Testa- 
ment  was  in  existence,  and  was  known  to  him.  This 
letter  of  his  shows  dearly  that  the  New  Testament, 
even  thus  early,  was  so  popular  that  it  entered  into 
the  common  life  and  language  of  the  people.  His 
letter  to  the  Philippians  is  shaped  in  the  language  of 
our  Scriptures,  and  it  is  evident  even  to  a  careless 
reader  that  it  could  not  have  been  written  at  all  except 
by  a  man  who  knew  his  New  Testament. 

It  is  a  very  short  epistle,  covering  only  a  few  pages, 
as  it  is  printed  in  an  English  translation.  Its  length 
will  be  better  understood  when  I  say  that  I  have 
read  it  through,  timing  myself,  in  +en  minutes.^ 
Yet  short  as  this  epistle  is,  it  is  long  enough  for  our 
purpose. 

CHARACTEE  OF  POLYOARP'S  EPISTLE. 

We  learn  from  it  that  Polycarp  was  a  devout  and 


y- Apostolic  Fathersr  Part  II.,  price  40  cts.  The  vol.  aUo 
contains  "The  Epistles  of  St.  Ignatius;^  "  The  Teachim  of  the 
Twelve,''  "  The  Epistle  to  Diognetus,"  Ac,  <fco. 


so  POLYCARP  THE  DISCIPLE  OF  JOHN 

pious  man.  We  have  already  said  that  he  had  the 
advantage  of  Christian  training,  which  was  not  lost 
upon  him.  From  childhood  he  had  listened  to  the 
great  leaders  and  founders  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 
He  had  sat  at  the  feet  of  the  saintly  John,  and  from 
the  lips  of  many  who  knew  our  Lord  Himself;  he 
had  heard  the  story  of  our  Lord's  life,  death,  resurrec- 
tion, and  glorious  ascension.  He  had  heard  them 
tell  of  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  Day  of  Pen- 
tecost, and  of  the  rapid  spread  ftf  Christ's  teaching, 
and  of  the  faithfulness  of  followers  and  their  con- 
verts in  times  of  trial  and  difficulty.  All  this  had 
so  filled  his  soul  that  he  lived  in  close  communion 
with  God,  and  was  deeply  anxious  for  the  welfare  of 
the  Church  of  God. 

In  his  letter  he  urges  the  Philippians  to  be  consis* 
tent  in  their  conduct,  steadfast  in  their  faith,  and  to 
manifest  brotherly  love;  while  at  the  same  time  he 
warns  them  against  falsehood,  covetousness,  and  evil 
doing.  Let  us  examine  a  few  passages  from  this  all- 
important  letter. 

"Wherefore  girding  up  the  loins  of  your  mind, 
serve  the  Lord  with  fear,  and  in  truth;  laying  aside 
all  empty  and  vain  speech,  and  the  error  of  many, 
believing  in  Him  that  raised  up  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
from  the  dead,  and  hath  given  Him  glory.  .  .  . 
But  He  that  raised  up  Christ  from   the  dead  shall 


DIVINE  PRECEPTS  61 

also  raise  up  us  in  like  manner,  if  we  do  His  will,  and 
walk  according  to  His  commandments,  and  love  those 
things  which  He  loved;  abstaining  from  all  unright- 
eousness, inordinate  affection,  and  love  of  money; 
from  evil  speaking,  false  witness;  not  rendering  evil 
for  evil,  or  railing  for  railing,  or  striking  for  striking, 
or  cursing  for  cursing;  but  remembering  what  the 
Lord  has  taught  us,  saying,  *  Judge  not,  and  ye  shall 
not  be  judged;  forgive,  and  ye  shall  be  forgiven/  " 

"  Let  us  therefore -serve  Him  in  fear,  and  with  all 
reverence,  as  both  Himself  has  commanded,  and  as 
the  Apostles  who  have  preached  the  Gospel  unto  us, 
and  the  prophets  who  have  foretold  the  Coming  of 
our  Lord  have  taught  us;  being  zealous  of  what  is 
good;  abstaining  from  all  offence  and  from  false 
brethren,  and  from  those  who  bear  the  name  of  Christ 
in  hypocrisy,  who  deceive  vain  men.  For  whosoever 
doesnotconfessthat  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh, 
he  is  Antichrist:  and  whoever  does  not  confess  his  suf- 
ferings upon  the  cross  is  from  the  devil;  and  whoso- 
ever perverts  the  oracles  of  the  Lord  to  his  own  lusts, 
and  says  that  there  shall  neither  be  any  resurrection 
nor  judgment,  he  is  the  firstborn  of  Satan.  Where- 
fore, leaving  the  vaunts  of  many,  and  their  false  doc- 
trines, let  us  return  to  the  word  that  was  delivered  to 
us  from  the  beginning:  *  Watching  unto  prayer,'  and 
persevering  in  fasting:  with  supplication  beseeching 


52  POLYCARP  THE  DISCIPLE  OF  JOHH 

the  all^seeing  God  *  not  to  lead  us  into  temptation,* 
as  the  Lord  hath  said,  *  The  spirit  truly  is  willing, 
but  the  flesh  is  weak.' " 

FEOOFS  THAT  THE  GOSPELS  WERE  THEN  WELL  KNOWN. 

These  short  quotations  will  be  sufficient  to  show 
the  nature  of  the  whole  Epistle,  and  also  to  show  how 
it  abounds  with  the  language  of  the  New  Testament. 
In  these  few  lines  we  notice — (1)  He  states  the  fact 
of  our  Lord's  resuijrection'  and  ascension  to  glory. 
(2)  He  refers  to  the  teaching  of  our  Lord  and  His 
Apostles.  (3)  He  refers  to  the  oracles  of  our  Lord, 
which  was  the  word  for  the  written  Gospels.  (4) 
He  quotes  the  language  of  Peter,  of  Paul,  of  Matthew, 
and  of  John. 

In  the  whole  Epistle,  which  occupies  but  ten  min- 
utes to  read,  we  find  the  language  of  Matthew,  Luke, 
John,  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles;  of  the  Epistle  of 
Peter;  and  of  Paul's  Epistles  to  the  Romans,  Corin- 
thians,  Galatians,  Thessalonians,  Ephesians,  Philip- 
pians,  Colossians,  Timothy,  and  Titus. 

Here,  then,  we  get  a  link  in  our  chain  which  con« 
nects  us  to  the  actual  writers  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  assures  us,  beyond  all  possibility  of  doubt,  that 
the  contents  of  our  New  Testament  were  in  the  handa 
of  the  men  who  lived  before  the  last  of  the  Ax^osties 
were  dead.  Could  anything  be  more  decisive?  Does 
not  this  most  clearly  answer  the  question.  Where  di(J 
oar  Bible  come  from?    I  do  not  know  of  anytning 


A  LINK  IN  THE  CHAIN  68 

ancien<>for  which  there  is  fuller  and  clearer  evidence 
of  authenticity  than  that  our  New  Testament  came 
from  the  disciples  and  their  friends  in  that  First 
Century  of  the  Christian  era.  We  can  strengthen 
this  last  link  still  more  by  a  short  notice  of  Papias, 
another  of  the  three  fathers  who  was  alive  in  the 
year  75,  a.  d. 


VIII. 
PAPIAS. 

|APIAS,  like  Polycarp,  is  not  men- 
tioned in  the  New  Testament,  but 
he  knew  many  of  the  men  and  the 
friends  of  the  men  who  are  named 
in  it.  In  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the 
Colossians  (iv.  18,)  you  will  find 
that  he  mentions  Hierapolis.  This  place,  now  in  ruins, 
lay  only  the  short  distance  of  a  few  miles  from  Laodicea, 
and  was  about  one  hundred  miles  on  the  east  of 
Ephesus.  A  Christian  Church  was  early  planted 
there,  and  the  Apostle  Philip  is  said  to  have  settled 
at  that  place. 

Papias  was  the  Bishop  of  Hierapolis.  He  was  the 
friend  of  Polycarp,  from  whom  he  received  much 
instruction;  and  some  have  said  that  he  was  a  disciple 
of  the  Apostle  John.  Papias  wrote  a  work,  called 
"  Inter preiatio7i  of  the  Sayings  of  the  Lord.'''*  The 
work  seems  to  have  been  a  large  one;  but,  unfortu^ 
nately,  it  is  lost.  Whether  it  has  perished  out  of  sight, 
or  is  hid  away  among  the  dust  and  lumber  of  some 
library  or  monastery,  no  one  knows.  The  last  trace  of 
the  book  seems  to  be  about  the  year  1218,  A.  d.  F<^^*^^u- 
nately,  quotations  from  the  work  are  preserved  in  lue 

.^4 


A  FRIEND  OF  THE  APOSTLE  JOHN  66 

Writings  of  IrensBus  and  Eusebius;  and  though  these 
portions  thus  preserved  are  not  nearly  so  numerous 
as  we  would  like,  they  are  most  valuable  indeed. 
We  know  how  the  Sinaitic  MS.  was  discovered  when 
it  had  been  thrown  into  a  basket  to  be  carried  to  the 
fire.  It  is  not  many  years  since  other  precious 
works  of  the  early  Christian  times  have  been  dis- 
covered; and  if  some  day  the  work  of  Papias  should 
be  found,  it  would  add  one  more  priceless  treasure  to 
our  ancient  documents,  and  throw  light  upon  our 
New  Testament. 

HIS  CAREFUL  COLLECTING  OF  FACTS. 

Papias  was  well  acquainted  with  the  daughters  of 
Philip,  and  would,  doubtless,  often  hear  from  their 
lips  the  story  which  their  father  had  told  them  of  the 
chief  events  in  the  life  of  our  Lord.  It  is  said  that 
Andrew  settled  in  Asia  Minor  with  the  Apostle  John, 
and  that  Papias  knew  both  these  Apostles;  and  many 
of  the  intimate  friends  of  the  Apostles  were  known  to 
him.  It  will  be  interesting  to  look  at  a  few  lines  from 
his  work,  which  Eusebius  has  preserved  for  us: — 

"  On  any  occasion  when  any  person  came  [in  my 
way]  who  had  been  a  follower  of  the  Elders,  I  would 
enquire  about  the  discourses  of  the  Elders — what  was 
said  by  Andrew,  or  by  Peter,  or  by  Philip,  or  by 
Thomas  or  James,  or  by  John  or  Matthew  or  any 
other  of  the  Lord's  disciples,  and  what  Aristian  and 


66  PAPIAS 

the  Elder  John,  the  disciples  of  the  Lord,  say.  For  I 
did  not  think  that  I  could  get  so  much  profit  from 
the  contents  of  books  as  from  the  utterances  of  a  liv- 
ing and  abiding  voice." 

HIS  EXCEPTIONAL    OPPOETUNITIES. 

If  we  look  carefully  at  this  passage  we  will  see 
how  important  it  is.  It  shows  us  at  once  in  what  a 
favored  position  Papias  was  in  regard  to  ascertain- 
ing the  facts  of  the  history  contained  in  our  New 
Testament.  Notice  carefully  the  following  which  is 
known  concerning  him:  1.  He  knew  two  men 
who  were  disciples  of  the  Lord.  2.  He  knew  the 
daughters  of  the  Apostle  Philip.  3.  He  had  met 
men  who  knew  many  of  our  Lord's  disciples.  4. 
That  he  had  conversation  with  them  respecting  the 
teaching  of  the  disciples.  5.  That  he  preserved 
"  hooks  "  which  contained  these  accounts.  6.  That 
he  added  to  the  teaching  of  the  books  all  he  could 
learn  from  living  men.^ 

It  is  very  evident  that  any  word  which  this  man 
speaks  on  the  question  of  the  New  Testament  will 
possess  the  greatest  value.  His  testimony  will  be 
second  only  in  importance  to  the  New  Testament 
itself.  A  man  occupying  his  position,  and  taking  the 
crouble  to  get  the  true  account  of  our  Lord's  work  on 


'  Dr.  Dale's  "  Living  Church  and  the  Four  Gospels. 


AN  ANCIENT  TESTIMONY  t7 

earth,  will  be  sure  to  leave  a  record  worthy  of  atten- 
tion. 

He  tells  us  that  Mark  was  a  companion  of  Peter, 
and  that  Mark  wrote  a  Gosi^el.  He  also  tells  us  that 
Matthew  wrote  a  Gospel  in  Hebrew.  He  appears  to 
have  been  acquainted  with  the  Gospel  of  John,  and 
he  quotes  from  the  early  Epistle  of  John,  and  one 
of  the  Epistles  of  Peter.  He  knew  the  Book  of 
Revelation,  and  maintained  that  it  was  a  divinely=^ 
inspired  book. 

Though  his  testimony  is  not  so  full  as  that  of 
Polycarp  and  Clement,  it  is  only  because  we  know 
less  of  him.  If  we  had  his  whole  work  I  have  no 
doubt  it  would  give  greater  testimony  than  either  of 
the  other  Apostolic  Fathers  we  have  classed  with  him. 
He  amply  confirms  what  the  others  have  said;  and 
altogether  they  give  such  testimony  as  should 
make  us  all  confident  that  our  New  Testament  is  not 
an  invention  but  that  it  came  direct  from  the  Apos- 
tles of  Jesus  Christ. 

I  conclude  this  chapter,  believing  that  it  should 
make  any  person  who  reads  it  feel  sure  that  his  New 
Testament  is  not  an  invention.  However  unlettered 
a  person  may  be  who  reads  and  loves  his  New  Testa- 
ment, he  may  continue  to  treasure  and  reverence  it 
as  the  Word  of  Life,  the  Lamp  of  God,  which  has 
come  to  us  from  the  holy  Apostles  themselves. 
Surely  he  may  say,    "  I  now  know  of  a   truth   that 


68  PAPIAS 

this  blessed  Book  has  come  down  the  ages,  for  I 
have  seen  that  holy  men  in  the  Church  of  God  have 
possessed  it  ever  since  the  first  century  of  the  Chris- 
tian era.  I  know  for  myself,  and  shall  be  able  to 
tell  others  'where  our  Bible  came  from/" 


IX. 

ANCIENT  VERSIONS  OF  THE 
SCRIPTURES. 

I  HE  books  of  the  New  Testament 
were  originally  written  in  the 
Greek  language.  At  a  very  early 
date  some  of  these  books  were 
translated  and  copied  into  the 
languages  spoken  by  the  men  and 
women  converted  to  Christianity  who  did  not  know 
Greek. 

The  early  versions  of  the  Scriptures  thus  grew  out 
of  the  necessities  of  the  case.  After  our  Lord's  ascen- 
sion to  heaven,  Christianity  rapidly  spread  and  took 
root  in  many  lands.  Within  thirty  years  of  the  day 
of  Pentecost  there  existed  Christian  churches,  with  their 
regular  services  and  oflScers,  in  places  far  removed 
from  each  other.  They  were  to  be  found  in  Europe 
and  in  Asia  Minor,  and  Syria;  also  at  Jerusalem, 
Csesarea,  Antioch,  and  in  Rome.  They  existed  in 
Asia  Minor,  and  in  the  cities  along  the  coast.  Churches 

59 


60  ANCIENT  VERSIONS  OF  THE  SCRIPTURES 

were  found  in  Philippi,  Thessalonica,  and  at  Corinth. 

Had  the  people  in  all  these  various  places  spoken 
ihe  Greek  language,  their  needs  would  have  been 
met  by  multiplying  copies  of  the  original  Greek 
books  of  the  New  Testament.  But  this  was  not  so. 
It  was  necessary  that  the  churches  in  these  places 
should  have  records  of  the  revelation  which  the  Lord 
and  His  Apostles  had  made,  in  such  language  as  they 
could  understand.  To  meet  their  needs  we  know 
that  translations  were  made.  It  is  not  easy  to  estimate 
the  high  value  of  these  ancient  versions  of  the  Bible, 
bringing  us  back,  as  they  do,  to  a  date  long  before 
the  oldest  of  our  known  manuscripts.  They  connect 
us  with  the  Apostles,  and  form  a  most  valuable 
chapter  in  the  history  of  the  Bible.  If  we  can  show 
that  versions  of  the  inspired  books  existed  in  the 
second  century,  we  shall,  of  course,  by  that  fact 
also  show  that  the  Scriptures  themselves  were  in 
existence  before  that  time,  or  they  could  not  have  been 
translated  into  those  languages. 

Out  of  the  multitude  of  ancient  versions  I  select 
two  for  special  examination.  These  two  versions  are 
called  the  Peshito,  used  in  the  Syrian  churches,  and 
the  Old  Latin  produced  for  the  North  African  Chris- 
tians. They  were,  so  far  as  we  know,  the  first  ver- 
sions of  the  Scriptures  made.  It  is  thought  by  some 
that  parts  of  these  two  versions  were  made  within  the 
Apostolic  age,  and  that  shortly  afterwards  the  transla- 


THE  SYRIAC  VERSION 


61 


dons  of  the  separate  parts  were  collected,  and,  aftei 

careful  revision, 
were  put  togeth- 
er as  completed 
books.  Let  us 
therefore  exam- 
ine the  charac- 
ter of  these  two 
versions. 


SYRIAC  MS. 

(Exod.  xui.  14-16)-A.  D.  464. 

(British  Museum,  Add.  MS.  14 ;  425, 

Four  books  of  the  Pentateuch,  viz:  Genesis, 
Exodus,  Numbers,  and  Deuteronomy^  according 
lo  the  Peshito  Tersion,  in  the  Estrangela- 
Syriac  character.  Written  in  the  city  of  Amid 
A.D.  464 :  the  oldest  dated  Biblical  manuscript  in 
existence.  From  the  monastery  of  Bt.  Mary 
Deiyara  in  Nitrian  Desert  of  Egypt, 


I.— THE  PESHI- 
TO, OR  SYRIAC 
VERSION. 

The  Peshito, 
or  Syrian  Bible, 
contains  the  old- 
est  Christian 
version  of  the 
New  Testament 
known  to  the 
world.  The  lan- 
guage in  which 
it  was  written 
(the  Syro-Chal- 
daic,  or  Arama- 
ic )  was  the  conw 
mon  dialec  t 
spoken  in  Pales- 


32  ANCIENT  VERSIONS  OF  THE  SCRIPTURES 

tine  at  the  time  of  our  Lord,  though  Greek  was  much 
used  in  business. 

It  is  quite  impossible  to  fix  the  exact  date  of  thia 
ancient  Syrian  Bible.  I  venture  to  believe  that  parts 
of  it  were  made  in  Apostolic  times,  and  very  likely 
under  Apostolic  direction.  There  is  some  evidence 
to  show  that  messengers  were  sent  from  Edessa  to 
Palestine  to  copy  the  sacred  books,  and  that  the 
Peshito  version  was  made  at  a  time  before  the  last 
of  the  Apostles  had  passed  away.  We  may  take  it 
as  an  admitted  fact  that  the  version  was  completed  in 
the  second  century,  and  some  time  before  the  year 
150,  A.  D. 

This  ancient  Syrian  Bible  is  a  most  important 
book.  It  was  always  regarded  with  respect,  and  in 
the  earliest  ages  was  received  as  an  authoritative 
book.  Indeed,  we  know  that  several  other  important 
versions  were  made  from  it  into  other  languages — 
Arabic,  Persian,  and  Armenian;  and  when  the  Syrian 
Church  lost  its  unity,  and  split  up  into  several  oppos- 
ing sects,  all  received  this  version  as  of  authority, 
and  all  used  it  in  their  public  worship. 

These  things  all  show  it  to  have  been  of  great 
importance.  I  venture  the  supposition  that  it  may 
not  only  have  been  the  most  complete,  but  the  most 
reliable  collection  of  the  sacred  books  then  known  to 
the  world,  except  such  as  the  church  at  Jerusalem 
may  have  possessed.    The  fact  that  it  was  probably 


THE  SECOND  CENTURY  68 

ft  translation  of  many  original  manuscripts  and 
careful  copies  of  original  manuscripts  gave  it  an 
authority  almost  equal  to  the  originals  themselves. 

It  is  important  now  that  we  should  note  the  books 
which  this  version  contains.  It  includes  the  four 
Gospels,  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  fourteen 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  1st  John,  1st  Peter,  and  Jamea 
You  will  see  that  this  list  very  nearly  corresponds 
with  our  own  New  Testament.  It  only  omits  the 
second  and  third  Epistles  of  St.  John,  the  second 
Epistle  of  St.  Peter,  the  Epistle  of  St.  Jude,  and  the 
Book  of  Revelation.  It  is  very  important  to  notice 
that,  though  this  ancient  version  omits  five  books 
contained  in  our  New  Testament,  it  does  not  include 
any  hook  which  is  not  to  he  found  there. 

II.— THE  OLD  LATIN  VERSION. 

"  We  have  seen  that  the  Peshito  version  was  early 
made  for  the  Eastern  churches.  We  now  turn  to  the 
Old  Latin  version,  which  was  made  for  the  Western 
churches,  and  which  has  exerted  an  influence  upon 
them  which  can  never  be  told  by  the  pen  of  mortal 
man.  It  was  from  this  version  that  St.  Jerome  made 
his  Latin  Vulgate,  which  Vulgate  became  the  Bible 
authority  of  the  Roman  Church,  and  remains  so  to 
this  day.  And  for  more  than  a  thousand  years  it  was 
the  chief  source  of  nearly  every  version  of  the  Scrip- 
tures made  in  the  West. 


64  ANCIENT  VERSIONS  OF  THE  SCRIPTURES 

But  though  we  cannot  fix  the  exaot  date  of  this 
old  version,  we  are  in  possession  of  evidence  which 
certainly  carries  us  back  to  the  second  century.  It 
was  well  known  to  Tertullian  and  men  of  his  day. 
He  freely  uses  it,  and  shows  that  it  was  not  only 
known,  but  current  at  the  time  when  he  was  in  the 
midst  of  his  literary  activity. 

Tertullian  was  born  about  150  A.  D.  If  we  take 
that  date  as  the  year  of  his  birth,  and  remember  that 
the  Old  Latin  version  was  in  use  in  the  African 
churches  when  he  was  a  man  and  at  work,  it  will  not 
be  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  it  was  written  before 
the  last  quarter  of  the  second  century  began.  It 
may  have  been  written  much  earlier,  but  it  could 
scarcely  have  been  much  later. 

'The  question  now  comes  as  to  what  books  this 
Old  Latin  version  contained.  It  contained  the  four 
Gospels,  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  thirteen  Epistles  of 
St.  Paul,  three  Epistles  of  St.  John,  the  First  Epistle 
of  St.  Peter,  the  Epistle  of  St.  Jude,  and  the  Book  of 
Revelation.  It  omits  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
the  Epistle  of  St.  James,  and  the  Second  Epistle  of 
St.  Peter.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  it  contains  all 
except  three  of  the  books  which  form  our  own  New 
Testament. 

If  these  two  versions  are  put  together,  we  shall  get 
a  more  striking  and  important  fact.  We  shall  find 
that,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  Second  Epistle 


THE  SECOND  CENTURY  66 

of  Peter,  which  they  both  omit,  they  contain  all  the 
hooks  which  constitute  our  New  Testament,  hut  no 
others.  Respecting  these  two  versions,  several  things 
should  be  noted  They  were  prohahly  in  common 
use  hy  great  hodies  of  Christians  in  the  last  half  of 
the  second  century.  The  churches  which  used  them 
received  them  as  the  heritage  of  a  previous  age. 
They  represented  the  New  Testament  which  was 
known,  received,  and  revered,  throughout  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  including  hoth  East  and  West. 


PART   ».— THE   OLD  TESTAMENT 


X. 


OUR   LORD'S   BIBLE. 


|HE  Bible  which  our  Lord  possessed 
was  the  Book  we  know  and  love  as 
the  Old  Testament.  Before  His 
crucifixion  there  was  not  a  single 
book  of  the  New  Testament  in  ex- 
istence. The  Bible  which  Jesus 
was  taught  to  read  as  a  child  by  that  marvelous 
mother  of  His  who  knew  the  religious  writings  of  her 
people,  was  the  same  old  Book  which  our  pious 
mothers  teach  their  children  to  read  in  these  days. 
The  stories  of  Joseph  and  his  coat  of  many  colors^ 
his  slave  and  orison  life  in  Egypt,  and  his  exaltation 
to  the  place  of  command;  of  Samuel  in  the  Taber- 
nacle at  Sliiloh  called  up  in  the  night  by  the  voice 
of  (rod;  of  David  and  his  sling  and  stone  with  which 
he  brought  down  the  giant  Goliath  of  Gath.  These 
8t<iries  filled  the  young  mind  and  heart  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  just  as  they  interest  boys  of  to-day  all  over 
the  world  wherever  our  Bible  is  known. 


ONE  STEP  AT  A   TIME  67 

The  fact  that  the  books  which  form  our  Old  Tes- 
tament are  the  same  which  composed  the  Bible  of 
the  age  in  which  Christ  lived  and  died  would  be  suf- 
ficient evidence  to  convince  millions  that  it  must 
have  come  from  the  inspired  prophets  of  ancient  days. 
For  them  it  would  be  enough  to  know  that  it  was 
read  and  honored  and  approved  by  their  Divine 
Lord.  If  it  had  His  sanction  and  that  of  His  holy 
apostles,  nothing  else  could  be  wanting.  If  it  could 
be  traced  no  farther  back  than  the  hands  of  Jesus 
Christ,  His  possession  of  it  would  furnish  all  the 
proof  they  would  need. 

THE   BIBLE   OUR   LORD   USED. 

I  shall,  however,  ask  the  reader  to  go  with  me 
much  beyond  the  first  of  the  Christian  centuries; 
but  we  must  take  one  step  at  a  time,  and  make  as 
sure  as  we  can  of  our  footing  at  each  stride  we  take. 

I  ward  now  to  show  that  the  Old  Testament  which 
we  have  was  the  Bible  of  our  Lord  and  His  Apostles. 

"  Ye  search  the  Scriptures,"  said  our  Savior  to  the 
men  of  His  time,  "  because  ye  think  that  in  them  ye 
have  eternal  life;  and  these  are  they  which  bear  wit- 
ness of  me." '  The  Bereans  are  commended  because 
'•  Tbey  searched  the  Scriptures  daily."  ^  Paul  says 
that  "All  Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God."' 
St.  Luke  tells  us  that  our  Lord.  "  Beginning  at  Moses 


Revised  Version,  John  V.  39.     'Acts  xvii.  1^       '2  Tim.  iii.  16. 


18  OUR  LORD'S  BIBLE 

and  all  the  prophets,  expounded  unto  them  in  all  th€v 
Scriptures  the  things  concerning  Himself."*  And 
he  tells  us  how  the  hearts  of  two  disciples  "  Burned 
within  them  while  He  opened  to  them  the  Scrip. 
tures."* 

The  question  at  once  arises,  What  Scriptures  were 
they  to  which  such  frequent  reference  is  made  by  onr 
Lord  and  His  Apostles?  Did  they  mean  the  Old 
Testament  we  have,  or  some  other? 

WE  HAVE  THE  SAME  BOOK. 

Any  one  who  will  take  up  a  Reference  Bible  will 
very  soon  find  out  that  Jesus,  John,  Luke,  Mark, 
Paul,  and  the  rest  of  the  New  Testament  writers,  had 
the  same  Old  Testament  which  we  prize.  They  are 
constantly  referring  to  it  and  quoting  from  it.  Let 
us  see  what  use  they  made  of  it. 

It  would  occupy  too  much  space  to  mention  all 
their  quotations;  and  if  We  were  to  specify  all  their 
references,  direct  and  indirect,  we  should  find  them 
to  be  very  numerous.  Each  of  the  writers  of  the 
New  Testament  refers  to  the  Old  Testament,  and 
they  quote  from  most  of  its  books.  There  are  in  the 
New  Testament  190  references  to  the  five  books  of 
Moses,  101  references  to  the  book  of  Psalms;  104 
references  to  the  book  of  Isaiah;  and  30  references  to 
minor  prophets.    There  are  in  the  New  Testament 


^Lnke  xxiv.  27.    *Luke  xxiv.  32. 


THE  SAME  TRUTHS  69 

some  639  references  to  the  Old.  These  639  references 
are  spread  over  the  entire  New  Testament,  for  all  the 
Viospels  and  all  but  three  of  the  Epistles  contain 
quotations  from  or  references  to  the  Old  Testament 
in  some  shape.  In  the  four  Gospels  there  are  191 
references;  52  in  the  Acts;  67  in  Romans;  and  so 
on.' 

WE   READ   THE  SAME  TRUTHS. 

It  will  at  once  be  obvious  that  when  we  take  up 
our  Bible,  and  turn  to  read  in  the  Old  Testament 
portion  of  it,  our  eyes  fall  upon  the  same  histories, 
prophecies,  and  poems  that  Christ's  eyes  tested  upon. 

When  we  hear  passages  read  from  Genesis,  Isaiah, 
or  the  Psalms,  we  listen  to  the  same  truths  which  the 
Apostles  and  their  Divine  Master  read  and  expounded 
in  the  ancient  Jewish  synagogues.  We  may  with 
safety  conclude  that  the  Old  Testament  we  hare  is 
the  same  which  the  Lord  Himself  used. 

It  matters  but  little  to  us  that  the  original  Hebrew 
manuscripts  have  perished.  It  will  not  in  the  least 
affect  the  object  we  have  in  view  to  say  that  the  oldest 
<3xisting  Hebrew  document  does  not  date  back  more 
than  a  thousand  years.  We  know  beyond  all  possi- 
bility of  doubt  that  nearly  two  thousand  years  ago 
the  Old  Testament  was  in  existence.  Our  Lord 
could  not    have  read  it   had  it  not  been  there.      It 


*Foi  details  see  "  Angus'  Bible  Handbookj^*  p.  83.S 


OUR  LORD'S  BIBLE 


would  have  been  impossible  for  Him  to  expound  the 
Scriptures  from  Moses  and  the  prophets,  if  Moses 
and  the  propheits  had  not  been  in  His  hands  and 
accessible  to  His  hearers 


XL 

THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE  BEFORE 
CHRIST  CAME. 

|ET  us  now  go  back  to  the  ancieiA 
centuries  to  peep  at  people  who 
lived  three  hundred  years  before 
Christ  came  on  earth.  It  is  a  long 
way  back;  but  we  need  not  be 
alarmed  for  the  Old  Testament 
records  events  thousands  of  years  earlier,  and  the  last 
of  its  writers  died  before  the  time  of  which  I  am  now 
writing.  We  want  to  know  something  about  an  old 
Bible  which  had  a  strange  name,  but  which  had  a  wide 
circulation,  was  very  popular  in  many  places,  and  in  a 
wonderful  way  was  blessed  of  God  in  preparing  the 
nations  for  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  was  to 
be  published  when  God  had  all  things  ready  for  it. 

This  book  was  called  the  Septuagint.  It  has  a 
great  deal  to  do  with  our  Bible,  and  we  cannot  find 
out  where  ours  really  came  from  unless  we  know  a 
little  of  this.  This  Septuagint  Bible  was  in  the 
Greek  language,  and  was  made  from  the  Hebrew 
about  the    year    280.    b.    c.     It  was    the  first  com- 

71 


72         THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE  BEFORE  CHRIST  CAME 

plete  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  from  the 
original  that  was  ever  made  that  we  know  of,  and  was 
certainly  the  most  important. 

I  should  like  to  tell  if  I  could  how  ii  was  made, 
but  unfortunately  we  have  not  much  real  history  to 
guide  us. 

ITS  ORIGIN. 

There  are  several  pleasant  stories  which  profess  to 
tell  of  its  origin.  One  of  these  says  that  the  Egyp- 
tian King,  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  was  anxious  to 
have  a  translation  of  the  Hebrew  Bible,  of  which 
he  had  heard  much,  that  it  might  adorn  the 
great  library  which  there  was  at  Alexandria  in  the 
third  century  before  Christ.  The  king's  librarian, 
Demetrius,  told  his  majesty  that  he  would  never  get 
the  translation  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  so  long  as 
he  held  so  many  Jews  in  slavery  in  his  country. 

The  story  goes  on  to  say  that  the  king  set  a  vast 
number  of  Jewish  slaves  free,  and  then  sent  valu- 
able presents  to  the  high  priest,  at  Jerusalem,  and 
asked  for  scholars  to  be  sent  to  him  to  make  him  a 
Greek  Bible.  The  high  priest  and  other  officials 
were  greatly  delighted,  and  selected  six  learned 
men  from  each  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  and 
sent  off  the  seventy-two  thus  chosen  to  Alexandria 
to  do  the  work  the  king  wished  done.  For  thes^ 
men  he  provided  each  a  separate  room,  and  the} 
began     their     work.       In     seventy^^two    days    each 


THE  SEPTUAGINT  78 

man  had  produced  a  translation,  and  when  they 
compared  them  it  was  found  that  each  copy  ex- 
actly agreed  with  all  the  rest!  This  was  taken  to 
be  an  evidence  that  God  had  inspired  them  all. 
Not  many  believe  the  story  now;  but  Josephus 
and  many  of  the  early  Christian  fathers  not  onlj 
told   it,   but  doubtless  believed  it. 

There  is  one  thing  about  which  we  can  be  tolerably 
?ertain,  and  that  is  that  the  Septuagint,  which  had 
this  name  because  of  the  seventy  men  engaged  upon 
its  translation,  was  made  in  the  third  century  before 
Christ,  and  probably  about  the  year  285,  B.  o. 

Let  me  state,  in  few  words,  why  I  think  it  was 
made.  It  is  well  known  to  historians  that  when  the 
Jews  returned  from  captivity  to  their  own  land,  they 
had  almost  forgotten  the  Hebrew  language.  This  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at.  Of  those  who  came  back 
only  the  smallest  remnant  had  seen  the  land  before. 
Two  generations  of  them  had  been  born  in  the  land 
of  captivity.  In  touch  with  the  life  of  another  nation 
and  surrounded  by  influences  that  were  powerful,  it 
was  no  wonder  that  they  ceased  to  speak  the  language 
of  their  forefathers. 

Suppose  a  number  of  Welsh  ^speaking  people, 
knowing  only  their  own  language,  had  been  trans- 
planted from  their  own  country  to  the  heart  of  the 
United  States,  and  that  they  and  their  children 
remain  there  for  seventy  years — what  would  happen 


74        THE  PEOPLE'S  BIBLE  BEFORE  CHRIST  CAME 

as  to  their  language?  In  twenty4hree  years  some  of 
the  children  of  these  Welsh  parents,  born  in  the 
United  States,  would  be  married.  In  another 
twenty- three  years  more  grandchildren  would  be 
married.  A  quarter  of  a  century  later  the  great- 
grandchildren would  be  married.  Thus  in  about 
seventy  years,  all  those  who  had  come  from  Wales 
would  either  have  died,  or,  if  living,  would  be  of  a 
great  age.  Do  you  think  these  children,  grand- 
children, and  great-grandchildren  would  be  still  speak- 
ing Welsh?  Their  language  would  have  dropped 
out  of  use.  This  was  the  case  with  the  Jews.  They 
had  largely  forgotten  Hebrew. 

But  vast  nuQibers  of  Jews  never  returned  at  all. 
When  the  last  of  the  exiles  reached  home,  about  the 
year  445,  B.  c,  they  left  behind  them  a  larger  number, 
known  as  the  Jews  of  the  Dispersion.  The  Sej^tua- 
gint  was  made  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  years 
after  the  last  company  of  Jews  had  returned  to 
Palestine  under  Nehemiah.  During  that  period  the 
Jewish  race  had  multiplied  and  spread  enormously  in 
those  Eastern  lands. 

GREEK   WAS   THE    COMMON   TONGUE 

of  these  Jews  in  many  lands,  and  to  meet  their  re- 
quirements and  fulfil  the  purpose  of  God  the  Septua- 
gint  or  Greek  translation  of  the  Bible  was  made.  It 
released  the  people  from  their  dependence  upon  the 
priests  for  the  Word  of  Life. 


PREPARATION  FOR  CHRISTS  COMING  75 

ITS    INFLUENCE. 

The  influence  of  this  old  Bible  was  marvel du 3,  and 
the  effect'  it  produced  in  the  world  can  never  be  told 
It  put  the  Scriptures  into  the  hands  of  the  people. 
It  was  the  wide  and  far=reaching  influence  of  this 
Book  which  prepared  the  world  for  the  coming  of 
the  Great  Prince,  whose  star  the  wise  men  who  came 
to  the  cradle  of  the  infant  Christ  had  seen  in  the 
East.  And  it  did  more  than  anything  else  to  pre- 
pare the  Eastern  world  for  the  reception  of  Chris- 
tianity.    Our  Bible  came  through  this  channel. 


XII. 


THE  FOUNTAIN-HEAD. 


[NE  step  more,  and  we  are  at  the 
fountain-liead.  It  is  but  a  short 
journey  from  the  Septuagint,  the 
Bible  of  the  LXX,  (as  it  is  often 
called)  to  the  original  source  from 
whence  flows  the  stream  of  Old 
Testament  inspiration. 

We  have  assumed  that  the  date  of  the  Greek  ver- 
sion is  the  year  285,  B.  c,  and  that  it  was  made  by 
scholarly  men  from  Hebrew  manuscripts,  and  was  tl:*^' 
first  ever  so  made. 

If  we  can  find  out  anything  about  their  Hebrew 
manuscripts,  and  be  sure  they  were  there,  we  should 
know  where  the  Old  Testament  portion  of '  our  Bible 
came  from,  for  we  shall  be  at  the  original  sources. 
Let  us  see. 

In  the  eighth  chapter  of  the  book  of  Nehemiah 
there  is  a  marvelous  description  of  the  reading  of  the 
law  which  is  worthy  of  careful  attention.  In  a  broad 
open  space  before  one  of  the  gates  'of  Jerusalem  there 

76 


THE  GREAT  SYNAGOGUE  77 

is  an  immense  congregation.  On  a  pulpit  of  wood 
Ezra  stands  up  to  read  the  law  of  God  to  the  newly- 
returned  exiles.  Assisted  by  the  chief  men,  he  trans- 
lates and  expounds  the  Word  of  the  Lord.  Day  after 
day  this  continues.  The  effect  of  this  is  that  a  few 
weeks  later  all  the  people  confess  their  sins,  and  enter 
into  a  solemn  promise  to  keep  and  observe  the  Law. 
This  is  made  all  the  more  impressive  by  the  fact 
that  the  priests,  the  Levites,  and  the  chief  men  of  the 
tribes  solemnly  sign  their  names  on  a  parchment  roll, 
and  seal  it  as  a  sacred  document  to  witness  what  they 
have  done.^ 

THE   "  GREAT  SYNAGOGUE." 

The  Jews  tell  us  ihat  the  names  on  the  list  thus 
made  formed  the  first  members  of  the  Great  Syna- 
gogue.  The  chief  work  of  the  synagogue,  which  was 
a  most  important  body,  was  to  collect,  select,  and  pre- 
serve to  the  world  all  the  MSS.  which  compose  the 
Hebrew  Scriptures.  Ezra  was  its  first  president;  and 
at  different  times  it  had  as  members  such  men  as 
Daniel,  Haggai,  Zechariah,  Malachi,  Zerubbabel,  and 
Nehemiah.  It  is  supposed  to  have  ceased  about  the 
year  300,  B.  o.  * 

From  the  day  when  Ezra  read  the  Hebrew  Scrip, 
tures,  and   the  solemn   covenant   was  made  by  the 


*  See  Nehemiah  yiii.  x. 

2  Smith's  "  Bible  Dictionary.'*  Article,  "  Synagogue,  the  Great." 


TO  THE  HEBREW  SCRIPTURES 

people,  as  recorded  in  Nehemiah,  to  the  day  when  the 
Septuagint  was  made,  there  is  a  space  of  time  of  only 
about  one  hundred  and  sixty  years.  The  reading  of  the 
Law  took  place  about  445,  B.  c.  And  the  Septuagint 
was  completed  about  285,  B.  c.  This  is  but  a  short 
interval.  The  two  dates  are  sufficiently  near  for  us 
to  assume  that  the  men  who  made  the  Greek  version 
used  the  best  known  manuscripts;  many  of  them,  no 
doubt,  the  actual  original  documents  bearing  the 
signatures  of  their  inspired  authors. 

THE  JEALOUS  CAEE  OF  THE  SACRED  BOOKS. 

We  know  how  carefully  and  jealously  the  Hebrews 
guarded  their  sacred  books.  Josephus  says:  "  Dur- 
ing so  many  ages  as  have  already  passed,  no  one  has 
been  so  bold  as  to  either  add  anything  to  them  or 
take  anything  from  them,  or  to  make  any  change  in 
them;  but  it  becomes  natural  to  all  Jews,  immediately 
and  from  their  very  birth,  to  esteem  those  books  to 
contain  Divine  doctrines  and  to  persist  in  them,  and 
if  occasion  be,  willingly  to  die  for  them."  * 

We  have  now  established  the  fact  that  the  Septua- 
gint was  a  Greek  translation  of  the  original  Hebrew 
Bible — the  messages  which  Moses,  the  Prophets,  and 
the  Psalmists,  spoke  to  their  fellow=countrymen,  ren- 
dered in  the  Greek  tongue.  As  our  Old  Testament 
contains  the  books  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  which 


'  JosephtLS  against  Apiouy^  Book  I,  sec.  8. 


THE  FOUNTAIN-HEAD  TRANSLATED  79 

were  translated  into  Greek  for  the  Septuagint  version, 
are  we  not  safe  in  saying  that  the  Old  Testament  por- 
tion of  our  precious  Bible  came  from  the  men  whom 
God  in  olden  times  inspired  to  tell  forth  His  mind 
and  will  concerning  the  salvation  of  the.  world  by 
Christ  Jesus? 


PART  III.— OUR  ENGLISH  BIBLE 


XIII. 


THE  FIRST  VERSIONS. 


|E  have  now  traced  the  Bible  to  its 
source.  Step  by  step  we  have  gone 
backward  until  we  have  reached 
the  fountain  from  which  came 
the  water  of  life.  Henceforth  we 
shall  always  understand  how  to 
answer  the  question,  "Where  did  the  Bible  come 
from?"  We  are  now  assured  that  the  New  Testa- 
ment we  have  was  possessed  by  the  churches  in  the 
closing  years  of  the  first  century.  The  Gospels 
which  are  in  our  hands  to=day  were  in  the  hands 
of  the  Christian  churches  before  the  last  of  the 
Apostles  had  passed  away.  The  Epistles  which 
we  possess  as  a  sacred  heritage  and  treasury  of  ilie 
highest  Christian  knowledge  were  in  the  haudsi 
of  the  bishops  and  officers  of  the  churches  eighteen 
hundred  years  ago. 

The  same  words  of  hope,  and  love,  and  light  which 
inspire  and  quicken  us,  came  with  all  their  force  and 

80 


THE  FOUR-FOLD  PICTURE  81 

power  to  the  Apostolic  Fathers.  The  story  of  our 
Lord's  life  and  death,  resurrection  and  ascension  to 
heaven,  which  our  Gospels  unfold,  is  the  same  story 
which  the  Apostles  related  in  the  hearing  of  the 
men  who  put  our  Lord  to  death.  It  is  the  same  story 
which  two  of  the  disciples  and  two  of  their  friends 
and  companions  wrote  in  the  four=fold  picture  of  our 
Redeemer  which  the  Gospels  contain.  All  this  should 
deepen  our  love  for  the  New  Testament. 

And  we  are  equally  confident  regarding  the  Old 
Testament.  It  is  the  sacred  Scriptures  of  the 
Jewish  nation  and  all  converted  to  their  faith  and 
was  possessed  by  our  Lord  and  His  Apostles.  It  is 
helpful  to  feel  that  when  we  teach  our  children  the 
stories  of  the  Patriarch,  the  sweet  music  of  the 
Psalms,  and  the  eloquent  words  of  the  Prophets,  we 
are  teaching  them  what  Jewish  parents  taught  their 
children  in  the  time  of  our  Lord.  Nay,  our  Lord 
Himself  was  taught  these  same  things  when  He  was 
a  child;  and  we  see  how  the  Scriptures  entered  into 
His  very  life. 

ENGLISH   TRANSLATIONS. 

We  have  now  another  question  to  deal  with,  rather 
different  from  the  one  we  have  answered.  The  Old 
Testament  was  originally  written  in  the  Hebrew  lan- 
guage, and  the  New  Testament  in  the  Greek  language. 
To  us  these  are  strange  and  foreign  tongues.  They 
are  languages  which  the  masses  of  our  people  do  not 


82  THE  FIRST  VERSIONS 

know.     But  we  have  the  Bible  in  English.     When 
and  how  was  it  put  into  the  English  language? 

This  is  a  most  interesting  question,  and  I  will 
answer  it  as  well  as  I  can.  In  answering  the  question 
where  the  Bible  came  from,  I  have  gone  backward 
step  by  step.  But  in  answering  the  question  of  the 
translation  of  the  ancient  Scriptures  into  the  English 
language,  I  shall  adopt  a  different  method.  I  shall 
go  back  to  the  earliest  information  I  can  get,  and 
then  work  forward  step  by  step  to  our  own  times. 
A  short  history  of  our  English  Bible  should  not  be 
without  interest  for  us. 

FIRST   TRANSLATED    INTO   LATIN. 

St.  John  in  his  Gospel  tells  us  that  Pilate  placed 
on  the  cross  of  Jesus  the  words,  "Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
the  King  of  the  Jews  " ;  and  Luke  says  the  same — 
and  tliat  the  words  were  in  Hebrew,  Greek,  and 
Latin.  These  three  are  the  languages  which  have 
had  much  to  do  with  the  sacred  Scriptures.  The  Old 
Testament  was  written  in  Hebrew,  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  Greek;  and  by  the  middle  of  the  second 
century  both  Old  and  New  Testaments  were  translated 
into  Latin.  It  was  in  Latin  that  we  had  the  Scrip- 
tures at  first;  and,  so  far  as  we  know,  for  many 
centuries  English-speaking  peoijle  had  to  get  the 
story  of  the  redemption  from  this  language. 

THE  ENGLISH   TRANSLATION   A   GROWTH. 

I  do  not  think  any  one  can  tell  when  the  Engb'slr. 


A  MULTITUDE  OF  AGENCIES  88 

speaking  people  first  had  the  Scriptures  in  their  own 
tongue.  It  is  quite  certain  that  at  a  very  early  period 
the  Latin  Bible,  known  as  the  Latin  Vulgate,  was 
the  Bible  of  the  clergy  and  that  used  in  public  wor- 
ship. It  may  have  been  that  some  portions  of  the 
Scriptures  were  translated  into  the  common  language 
of  the  j)eople  at  a  very  early  date;  but  it  is  doubtful  if 
many  were  able  to  read  them.  Our  English  version 
is  the  growth  of  ages,  and  cannot  be  ascribed  to  any 
one  man.  The  Old  and  the  New  Testaments  in  the 
original  languages  were  the  work  of  many  men. 
God  used  a  multitude  of  agencies,  and  sent  us  His 
revelations  through  a  number  of  human  channels 
In  like  manner,  the  production  of  the  English  Bible 
in  its  latest  form,  the  Revised  Version,  has  been 
secured  by  many  men,  working  in  different  ways, 
each  doing  his  share — God  guiding  the  whole;  until 
we  have  now  what  many  hold  to  be  the  best  English 
Bible  the  world  has  ever  seen. 

I  cannot  go  through  the  history  of  all  the  transla- 
tions; but  will  mention  a  few.  I  propose,  first,  to  re- 
fer briefly  to  some  of  the  early  workers  at  our  Bible; 
then  to  describe  the  work  of  Wy cliff e,  and  of  Tyndale. 
and  a  few  others. 

ST.    JEROME   AND   HIS    VULGATE. 

If  we  should  go  to  Bethlehem,  and  visit  the  church 
built  over  the  spot  where  our  Savior  is  said  to  have 
oeen  born,  the  guide  will  take  us  to  tn©  Chapel  and 


84  THE  FIRST  VERSIONS 

Tomb    of   St.  Jerome.      About  383,  A.  d.,  Jerome, 
who  was  ODe  of  the  most  scholarly  men  of  his  times, 

.et  CO  N  B  eroisj  «vbtt  e^no 
***^  Cu  cr>A^  recoiK  en  ci^a 

•TUNGT)T~Cll: 
cne^oo 

scop )  S  ni  u  nX>  iXT  \01€J 

ru  N  cu  Jv^iT^,  r'^0su(nii 
s  epTem  ^1  o  s  sp^ 

LATIN  GOSPELS. 
(St.  Matt.  xii.  42^5)-Sixth  century. 
(British  Museum,  Harley  MS.  1775.) 
The  Four  Gospels,  in  Latin,   of  the  version  of   Saint 
Jerome,  written  in  uncial  letters  in  the  sixth  centory. 

w^ent  to  Eome.      The  Bishop  of  Rome  at  that  time 
was  named  Damasus,  and  he  at  once  asked  Jerome, 


THE  VULGATE  86 

who  had  become  his  secretary,  to  undertake  the  task 
of  correcting  and  improving  the  Latin  Bible  then 
used  in  the  Western  churches.  He  consented;  and 
in  385,  A.  D.,  he  completed  the  revision  of  the  New 
Testament.  After  the  death  of  Damasus,  which  oc 
curred  in  the  same  year,  Jerome  retired  to  Bethlehew, 
where  he  founded  a  monastery,  and  where  he  lived  for 
thirty  years  engaged  in  useful  works,  pious  devotions 
and  learned  studies.  It  was  here  in  the  sixtieth  year 
of  his  age  that  he  began  a  new  translation  into  Latin 
of  the  Old  Testament  from  the  Hebrew,  a  task  which 
not  many  men  in  his  time  were  competent  to  perform. 
He  died  at  Bethlehem  in  September,  420,  A.  d. 

His  work  was  know^n  as  the  Vulgate,  and  was  the 
only  Bible  which  the  English  possessed  for  some  cen- 
turies.  For  more  than  a  thousand  years  it  was  the 
Bible  from  which  every  version  in  English  was  made. 
It  is  the  Bible  followed  by  the  Eoman  Catholics  in 
all  their  translation  work.  What  is  called  the  Douay 
Bible,  with  the  Rlienish  New  Testament,  was  made 
from  the  Vulgate. 


XIV. 
THE  SCRIPTURES  IN  ANGLO-SAXON. 

jET  us  imagine  ourselves  for  a  mo. 
ment  or  two  in  a  monastery  at 
JarroW'On-Tyne,  on  a  quiet  even- 
ing in  May,  735,  A.  d.  There,  snr. 
rounded  by  his  loving  students,  we 
might  see  an  old  man  quietly  dying. 
This  was  the  venerable  and  beloved  Bede,  the  most 
famous  scholar  of  his  day. 

Bede  undertook  to  translate  the  Gospel  of  St.  John 
into  the  Anglo-Saxon,  the  language  of  the  people  of 
England  at  that  time.  Before  his  work  was  done,  he 
fell  sick  and  drew  nigh  unto  death;  but  he  would  not 
relinquish  his  task.  Calling  his  boy^pupil,  Cuthbert, 
to  his  side,  he  bade  him  write  while  he  dictated 
It  must  have  been  a  pathetic  and  touching  sight  to  see 
him  spending  his  last  hours  on  earth  in  putting  the 
writings  of  John  into  the  common  language  of  the 
people. 

"There  remains  but  one  sentence,  master!"  said 
his  pupil. 

"  Write  quickly,"  said  the  dying  man. 

Soon  the  writer  said,  "  It  is  finished,  master.'' 

"  True,  it  is  finished,"  said  the  dyin^  saint 


THE  VENERABLE  BEDE  8? 

He  had  been  raised  at  his  own  request;  and  softly 
chanting,  "  Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son, 
and  to  the  Holy  Ghost,"  his  spirit  took  its  flight  and 
passed  to  the  celestial  city. 

TRANSLATION    BY   A   KING. 

There  were  others  before  Bede  who  had  done  a 
little  in  translating  some  portions  of  the  Bible. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  seventh  century,  metrical 
paraphrases  of  parts  of  the  Bible  were  written  by 
Caedmon,  a  servant  at  one  of  the  Yorkshire  Abbeys } 
and  a  little  later  Aldhalm,  Bishop  of  Sherborne,  trans- 
lated fifty  of  the  Psalms.  This  interesting  work  (the 
oldest  of  the  many  attempts  to  give  the  Bible  in  the 
vernacular  of  the  English  people)  is  still  extant  in  a 
manuscript  in  the  National  Library,  Paris. 

We  may  now  pass  on  to  notice  the  work  of  King 
Alfred  the  Great. 

Of  all  the  kings  who  ever  bore  the  title  of  Great, 
the  Saxon  king  perhaps  deserved  it  most;  for  he  was 
a  most  remarkable  man — a  Christian,  a  scholar,  a 
soldier,  a  statesman,  and  a  king  all  in  one. 

Alfred  was  born  at  Wantage,  in  Berkshire,  England. 
in  the  year  849,  A.  D.  This  was  a  little  more  than  a 
century  after  the  venerable  Bede  had  passed  away. 
Alfred  had  the  advantage  of  a  loving  and  pious  mother, 
who  not  only  trained  him  in  the  practice  of  virtue, 
but  created  in  him  a  spirit  of  patriotism,  and  the  love 


88  THE  SCRIPTURES  JN  ANGLO  SAXON 

of  learning.  When  he  was  a  child  of  six  years,  he 
was  taken  by  his  father  to  Rome,  and  though  so  young, 
received  impressions  which  were  permanent.  Amid 
the  studies  of  his  youth  he  obeyed  the  call  to  arms, 
fought  the  battles  of  his  country,  and  began  to  reign 
when  he  was  about  twenty=two  years  of  age. 

Alfred  was  a  man  who  practised  strict  discipline 
and  great  regularity  in  all  things.  His  day  of  twenty 
four  hours  was  divided  into  three  equal  portions. 
He  gave  eight  hours  to  business,  eight  hours  to  study 
and  devotion,  and  eight  hours  to  sleep  and  bodily 
exercise.  In  those  days  clocks  and  watches  were  not 
8o  common  as  now,  so  he  invented  a  plan  to  measuje 
his  time  accurately.  He  had  candles  of  certain 
lengths  and  thicknesses  made,  which  he  consumed  in 
lanterns,  he  knowing  how  long  each  would  burn. 

He  took  part  in  no  less  than  fifty-six  battles,  and 
is  said  to  have  founded  the  English  monarchy.  He 
built  England's  first  fleet  of  ships;  established  a 
militia;  rebuilt  many  ruined  cities,  among  them  Lon- 
don; saved  his  people  in  time  of  war;  ruled  them 
wisely  and  well  in  times  of  peace;  gave  them  wise, 
just,  and  humane  laws;  greatly  encouraged  commerce 
and  manufactures;  devoted  a  seventh  of  his  entire 
revenue  to  public  works;  and  founded  schools  and 
seats  of  learning.  He  died  in  the  year  901,  when  but 
fifty-two  years  of  age,  after  having  reigned  for  thirty 
years.     He  concerns  us  now  as  a   translator  of  the 


ALFRED  THE  ORE  AT  89 

Scriptures.  He  intensely  loved  his  Bible,  and  was 
anxious  that  his  people  should  be  able  to  read  it  in 
their  own  language.  Accordingly,  he  worked  upon 
a  translation  of  the  Psalms,  a  portion  of  the  Bible 
specially  popular  in  all  ages,  and  also  upon  the  Gos- 
pels. His  work'was  cut  short  by  his  somewhat  early 
death;  and,  although  we  have  no  actual  manuscript 
from  his  hand,  doubtless  his  influence  was  felt  in  the 
subsequent  Saxon  translations. 

THE  WOBK  OP  ^LFBIO. 

After  the  death  of  Alfred  there  came  a  long  pause 
in  Bible  translation.  Here  and  there,  it  is  true,  a 
little  was  done.  Passing  from  King  Alfred's  work  in 
the  ninth  century,  we  learn  that  at  the  close  of  the 
tenth,  or  early  in  the  eleventh,  the  first  seven  books 
of  the  Old  Testament  were  partly  translated  by  an 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  named  -^Ifric 

In  the  early  part  of  the  fourteenth  century  there 
were  two  prose  versions  of  the  Psalms.  But  it  does 
not  appear  that  the  whole  Bible  was  ever  known  in 
the  English  language  at  an  earlier  date  than  the  days 
of  John  Wy cliff e,  whose  work  we  will  notice  in  out 
aext  chapter. 


XV. 


JOHN  WYCLIFFE 

HE  year  1382  is  the  earliest  date  at 
which  it  can  with  certainty  be  said 
that  the  entire  Scriptures  were 
known  in  the  English  language. 
This  was  chiefly  the  work  of  John 
WyclifPe,  the  "Morning  Star  of 
the  Keformation,"  at  whose  life  and  work  we  must 
now  rapidly  glance. 

Wycliffe  lived  in  dark  and  trying  times.  The  Church 
of  God  had  sunk  to  a  sad  and  desperate  condition  of 
spiritual  decay.  The  lives  of  the  clergy  were  a 
reproach  to  the  name  of  religion.  Men  were  pro- 
moted to  a  high  position  in  the  Church  who  were  not 
only  intellectually  unfit,  but  who  were  scandalously 
impure  in  their  conduct.  The  upper  classes,  too, 
were  flagrantly  wicked  and  unchaste. 

KEFORMER   AND   TRANSLATOR. 

John  Wycliffe  was  perhaps  the  first  reformer  in 
England  who  dared  to  stand  alone  and  rebuke  the 
leaders  of  the  Church,  and  fearlessly  assert  the  freedom 
of  religious  thought  and  teaching  against  the  dogmas 
of  tba  Pope. 

90 


THE  BIBLE  IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  PEOPLE        91 

It  is  with  Wycliffe  as  a  translator  of  the  Bible  that 
we  have  to  deal.  He  labored  hard  to  put  the  Word 
of  God  into  the  common  language  of  the  people,  and 
succeeded  to  an  extent  which  none  before  him  had 
done. 

THE  FIRST   COMPLETE   ENGLISH   BIBLE. 

The  whole  of  the  New  Testament,  which  was  issued 
first,  was  the  work  of  the  Keformer  himself,  but  in 
the  translation  of  the  first  half  of  the  Old  Testament 
he  was  assisted  by  Nicholas  de  Hereford,  one  of  his 
friends  at  Oxford.  About  1882  he  was  able  to  sen  d 
forth  the  whole  Bible  in  the  English  tongue  as  gen- 
erally spoken,  and  it  was  then  that  the  ^^0j5/e  became 
possessed  of  that  unspeakable  treasure,  the  Word  of 
crod.  The  Bible  was  no  longer  merely  the  property 
of  the  priests  and  the  few  scholarly  men  of  the  time. 
It  was  now  to  be  had  in  the  motlier4ongue  of 
the  people;  and  the  dream  of  many — to  enable 
every  plowboy  to  read  the  Bible — was  in  a  fair 
way  of  being  realized.  Wycliffe's  Bible  had  a  large 
circulation.  But  we  must  remember  that  it  was  in 
manuscript,  for  printing  was  not  yet  invented. 

It  is  impossible  fully  to  measure  the  influence 
which  Wycliffe's  Bible  had  upon  the  English  people 
and  upon  the  world.  It  was  eagerly  sought  after  by 
the  people.  Though  it  was  sold  at  e  high  price,  its 
treasure  came  down  to  the  very  jDoorest.     Wycliffe's 


B2  JOHN   WYCLIFFE 

preachers  went  about  the  country  reading  the  pages 
of  the  book,  and  telling  of  its  contents  in  their  ser- 
aions;  and  often  parties  were  gathered  together  to 
hear  some  one  read  a  page  or  two,  or  recite  their  eon- 
tents. 

This  great  work  of  Wycliffe  laid  all  succeeding 
ages  under  deep  obligation  to  him.  As  a  translation 
it  was  not  so  perfect  as  the  Bible  which  we  now 
happily  possess.  We  must  recollect  that  it  was  but  a 
translation  of  Jerome's  Vulgate,  that  is,  a  translation 
of  a  translation.  Men  in  those  days  had  not  access 
to  the  original  manuscripts  of  which  we  have  spoken- 

wycliffe's  persecution  and  trial. 

Wycliffe's  work  was  so  well  done  that  its  influence 
remains  upon  our  version  to  this  day.  Unfortunately, 
however,  the  men  in  office  and  power  in  the  Church 
in  Wycliffe's  time  did  not  appreciate  the  work  of 
such  a  Reformer.  Not  only  did  he  publish  the  Bible 
in  the  language  of  the  people  in  1382,  but  before 
doing  this  he  had  attacked  the  false  and  wicked  posi- 
tion  of  the  leaders  in  the  Church;  and  for  this  attack 
he  was  called  to  account.  He  was  summoned  to 
appear  before  a  great  council  at  f\  monastery  at 
Blackfriars,  in  May,  1382.  with  Courtenay,  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  presiding.  There  he  stood 
alone — tall,  pale,  and  thin.  That  brave  man  pre- 
sented a  great  contrast  to  the  dignitaries,  clothed  in 


THE  HOME  CALL  93 

their  purijle  and  uatia  and  damask  gowns,  as  he  stood 
before  his  judge,  surrounded  by  scowling  abbots  and 
monks,  bishops  and  priests. 

You  may  ask,  For  what  offence  is  this  poor,  pale, 
friendless  clergyman  brought  here?  Has  he  been 
guilty  of  some  grave  crime?  Does  some  nameless 
immorality  sit  upon  his  head?  Has  he  been  impure, 
unchaste,  and  wicked?  Had  such  been  his  offence, 
he  might  easily  have  escaped.  He  had  been  guilty 
of  a  serious  offence.  He  had  attacked  the  Church, 
and  denounced  the  sinful  practices  of  some  of  her 
priests  and  monks.  As  did  Luther  at  a  later  date,  he 
spoke  boldly  against  the  sale  of  indulgences,  and 
against  masses  for  the  souls  of  the  dead,  as  systems 
of  fraud  and  dishonesty. 

Some  consternation  was  caused  during  his  trial  by 
an  earthquake  which  made  London  tremble.  Many 
of  the  men  in  that  assembly  grew  pale;  but  the  arch- 
bishop declared  that  the  trial  must  go  on,  and  said 
that  as  the  earthquake  purged  away  the  evil  odors  in 
the  earth,  so  the  trial  would  purge  away  the  evil  in 
the  hearts  of  men  which  Wycliffe  and  his  followers 
had  introduced  into  the  land. 

The  result  of  the  trial  was  that  after  some  days' 
consideration,  a  solemn  condemnation  was  issued 
against  the  teaching  of  Wycliffe,  and  all  who  taught 
or  received  his  doctrines.  He  returned  to  his  home 
and  his  church  at  Lulterworth:  and  there  during  the 


94  JOHN  WYCLIFFE 

last  two  years  of  his  life,  amid  his  books  and  poor 
parishioners,  he  translated  and  published  the  Bible 
as  described  above. 

Doubtless  much  material  had  been  gathered  for 
this  work  during  the  earlier  and  busier  portion  of  his 
life;  but  at  Lutterworth  he  had  the  needful  leisure 
for  the  completion  of  his  life-work.  He  was  assisted 
by  his  curate,  John  Purvey,  in  the  work  of  revising 
and  editing  the  whole;  and  transcribers  then  took  in 
hand  the  task  of  multiplying  copies,  of  which  nearly 
one  hundred  and  fifty  were  finished  within  forty 
years  of  Wycliffe's  death. 

The  home-call  of  the  Keformer  was  tragic  in  its 
swiftness.  On  the  last  Sunday  of  1384  he  was 
administering  the  Lord's  Supper  in  his  church.  In 
that  awful  moment  he  fell  to  the  floor,  was  seize  1 
with  a  fit  of  palsy  and  never  recovered,  lingering 
only  to  the  last  day  of  the  year,  when  his  soul  passed 
on  to  that  land  where  all  is  peace  and  love.  But 
what  a  priceless  legacy  he  left  behind  him  I 


XVI. 
WILLIAM  TYNDALE. 

ROM  Wycliffe  to  Tyndale  we  take  a 
stride  of  one  hundred  years.  It  is 
a  long  step  to  take,  and  it  is  a  most 
important  one.  During  that  period 
a  great  discovery  had  been  made, 
which  was  destined  to  i)lay  a  great 
part,  not  only  in  the  history  of  the  Bible,  but  in  the 
spread  of  knowledge  all  over  the  world:  I  mean  the 
invention  of  printing.  Wycliffe's  Bible,  and  all  books 
up  to  his  time  and  after,  were  in  writing.  Monks  in 
their  cells  and  learned  men  in  their  studies  toiled  at 
the  work  of  copying  out  the  Bible  with  the  pen. 
But  when  Tyndale  was  ready  to  issue  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  English,  he  had  the  printing  press  to  help 
him  to  multiply  copies  and  spread  them  throughout 
England  thick  as  autumn  leaves. 

THE  PRINTING  PRESS. 

The  printing  press  had  at  least  a  twofold  effect 
upon  the  translation  and  spread  of  the  Bible.  In- 
stead of  men  having  to  work  for  weary  months  at 
copying  the   Bible  with  the  pen,  its  sheets  could  be 

95 


96  WILLIAM  TYNDALE 

struck  off  at  a  rapid  rate.  If  the  reader  will  sit  down 
and  torite  one  page  of  the  Bible,  and  mark  how  long 
it  takes  him,  and  then  multiply  the  number  of  min- 
utes which  it  occupies  with  the  whole  number  of 
pages  of  the  Bible,  he  will  get  some  idea  of  the  length 
of  time  taken  to  produce  one  copy  of  the  Bible,  with- 
out allowing  any  time  at  all  for  the  initial  letters  and 
flourishes  with  which  most  of  the  Bibles  were  illus 
trated  and  adorned  in  the  Middle  Ages  and  after- 
wards. Let  the  same  reader  stand  in  a  printing 
office  and  see  with  what  rapidity  the  press  throws  off 
the  sheets  of  the  Bible. 

Then,  too,  the  printing  press  enables  the  Bible  to 
be  jjroduced  at  a  greatly  reduced  cost.  In  John 
Wy cliff e's  time  Bibles  were  very  costly  indeed. 
There  is  a  great  difference  in  the  purchasing  power 
of  money  now  and  then;  but  it  is  estimated  that  in 
the  fourteenth  century  a  copy  of  the  English  Bible, 
as  translated  by  Wycliffe,  was  worth  a  sum  quite 
equal  to  $200  of  American  money.  In  our  days  a 
complete  Bible  can  be  had  for  twenty=five  cents  or 
less.  This  great  invention  of  printing  has  been  used 
to  the  full  in  the  production  and  spread  of  the  Script- 
ures. Every  year  millions  of  copies  of  the  Script- 
ures, in  whole  or  in  part,  are  circulated  in  over  three 
hundred  languages  and  dialects. 

It  is  almost  impossible  for  us  to  understand  and 
appreciate  the  effect  produced  upon  the  life  of  Eng- 


TYNDALE  Ai\D  HIS  WOBK  97 

land  by  the  rapid  circulation  and  reading  of  Tyn- 
dale's  Bible  and  those  which  immediately  followed 
it.  It  was  the  one  great  book  which  England  read. 
It  did  not  take  many  years  to  make  it  the  Bible  of 
the  people;  and  it,  more  than  any  other  work,  made 
English  men  and  women  the  people  of  the  Bible.  It 
was  read  in  all  sorts  of  places,  under  all  kinds  of  cir- 
cumstances, and  by  all  sorts  of  people.  It  rapidly 
found  its  way  to  the  Universities.  It  was  read  by 
the  merchants,  the  workers,  and  the  plowboys.  At 
the  seats  of  learning,  in  the  churches,  and  in  the 
homes  of  thepeo^'^e,  the  music  of  that  Book  fell  upon 
listening  ears^  and  produced  marvelous  results.  It 
kindled  a  remarkable  enthusiasm  among  the  people, 
quickened  the  moral  sense  of  the  country,  and  deep- 
ened the  religious  life  of  the  nation.  "  The  people 
who  sat  in  darkness  saw  a  great  light." 

TYNDALE   AND   HIS  WORK. 

But  we  must  tell  the  story  of  Tyndale  and  h\» 
work.  When  William  Tyndale  was  born,  about  the 
year  1484,  John  Wycliffe  had  been  dead  one  hundred 
years  and  the  great  reformer,  Martin  Luther,  was 
aboct  one  year  old.  The  times  were  full  of  action 
and  hope.  The  fifteenth  century,  in  which  he  was 
born,  and  the  sixteenth,  in  which  he  did  his  work, 
were  centuries  crowded  with  influences  and  forces 
which  produced  the  great  and  powerful  Eiigland  ot 


98  WILLIAM  TYNDALE 

to'day.  Wycliffe  and  his  Lollards  had  sown  the  seed 
of  the  Reformation,  which  took  root  and  was  to  bear 
fruit  during  these  centuries.  It  was  the  age  of  the 
revival  of  learning — of  patriots,  of  discoverers,  mar- 
tyrs, saints,  and  heroes.  It  was  the  era  of  able  men 
in  many  departments  of  life;  and  England  saw  a 
great  outburst  of  enthusiasm,  which  quickened  its 
social^  intellectual,  and  religious  life. 

Not  the  least  in  importance  stood  William  Tyndale, 
the  Gloucestershire  boy.  In  early  life  he  was  sent  to 
Oxford,  where  he  won  distinction  while  quite  young. 
Afterwards  he  went  to  Cambridge,  and  came  in  con- 
tact with  those  influences  which  pushed  him  on  in 
the  great  work  of  his  life.  Here  he  met  with  Erasmus 
the  foremost  Greek  scholar  of  the  day,  who  published 
the  first  Greek  New  Testament.  Here,  too,  he  be- 
came a  Greek  scholar,  and  was  enabled  to  read  and 
translate  from  the  original  the  New  Testament  which 
he  determined  to  publish  in  English. 

He  does  not  seem  to  have  possessed  much  of  this 
world's  wealth,  so  he  sought  the  help  and  shelter  of 
the  bishop  of  London,  Dr.  Tunstall.  He  was  anx- 
ious to  carry  on  his  work  of  putting  the  Scriptures 
into  English  under  the  roof  of  the  episcopal  pakce, 
and  with  the  patronage  of  the  bishop.  One  would 
think  that  here  he  would  be  sure  to  find  aid.  But 
unfortunately,  he  failed,  so  he  betook  himself  else- 
where. Though  he  failed  with  the  bishop,  he  sur- 
ceedpfl  with  a  London  merchant  of  the  nama  of  IMoii- 


FLIGHT  TO  WORMS  99 

mouth,  in  whose  house  he  worked  for  a  considerable 
time. 

I 

DEPARTURE  FROM  ENGLAND. 

He  soon  began  to  feel  that  he  could  not  hope  to 
be  secure  in  London,  or  even  in  England.  He  saw 
many  a  man  led  off  to  prison,  and  some  to  death,  for 
offences  which  would  not  be  considered  so  serious  as 
the  work  on  which  he  was  engaged.  So  in  the  year 
1524  he  left  England  to  take  up  his  quarters  for  a 
time  at  Hamburg.     He  never  returned  to  England. 

Here  and  at  Cologne  he  toiled  on  bravely,  amid 
poverty,  disgrace,  and  danger,  ever  upborne  by  a 
brave  heart  and  a  hopeful  spirit.  At  length  his  work 
was  so  far  forward  that  the  sheets  of  his  New  Testa- 
ment were  in  the  hands  of  the  printer.  But  now, 
when  success  seemed  within  reach,  a  new  and  bewil- 
dering difficulty  came  upon  him.  An  unprincipled 
and  bigoted  priest  made  some  of  the  printers  drunk, 
and  got  from  them  the  secret  of  the  printing  of  this 
book.  He  at  once  urged  the  magistrates  to  order 
Tyndale's  arrest,  and  also  send  him  across  to  Eng- 
land. Hearing  of  this  through  some  friends,  Tyndale 
rushed  to  the  printers,  seized  the  precious  sheets  of 
his  book,  and  fled  with  all  speed  from  Cologne  to 
Worms. 

Worms  was  then  the  stronghold  of  the  Eeformers, 
and  was  enthusiastic  for  Luther  and  his  cause.  Here, 
therefore,  Tyndale  found  refuge.     In  1526  he  com- 


100  WILLIAM  TYNDALE 

pleted  his  book,  and  had  copies  ready  for  dispatch  to 
England.  But  a  new  difficulty  now  faced  him.  How 
was  he  to  get  his  book  into  the  country?  Though  he 
had  escaped  from  the  mischief  of  the  priests  at 
Cologne,  he  knew  that  information  had  been  sent  to 
England  about  his  work,  and  he  was  quite  sure  that 
a  strict  watch  would  be  kept  for  it  at  the  ports  of  en- 
trance. In  order  to  escape  the  vigilance  of  the 
watchers,  the  book  was  packed  up  in  bales  of  cloth, 
in  sacks  of  flour,  and  in  cases  of  merchandise  of  all 
kinds.  In  spite  of  the  care  of  the  enemies  of  the 
Word  of  God,  many  hundreds  of  copies  were  thus 
introduced  into  England,  and  circulated  far  and 
wide  among  the  people. 

BUENING  THE  BIBLE. 

While  the  lovers  of  the  Book  greatly  rejoiced,  its 
enemies  were  put  into  a  commotion  and  panic.  Find- 
ing it  impossible  to  stop  its  entry  into  the  country^ 
the  bishop  of  London  hit  upon  the  idea  of  buying  up 
all  the  copies  that  could  be  found. 

This  was  done,  and  the  bishops  had  them  piled  ni 
heaps  and  burned  at  Paul's  Cross.  The  books  blazed. 
But  that  did  not  stop  the  good  work.  The  bishop 
could  no  more  hinder  the  progress  of  God's  truth  thaii 
could  the  Nazarenes  with  their  puny  hands  destroy 
Jesus  Christ  when  they  thrust  Him  out  of  the  syna- 
gogue. Said  Tyndale:  "  I  am  glad,  for  these  t  a-^ 
benefits  shall  come  thereof;  I   shall  e:et  money   To 


BURNING  THE  BIBLE  101 

bring  myself  out  of  debt  and  the  whole  world  will 
cry  out  against  the  burning  of  God's  Word,  and  the 
overplus  of  the  money  that  shall  remain  with  me 
shall  make  me  more  anxious  to  correct  the  Said  New 
Testament,  and  so  newly  to  imprinc  the  same  once 
again;  and  I  trust  the  second  will  be  much  better 
than  ever  was  the  first." 

A  fragment  of  the  Oospel  by  Matthew  is  to  be 
found  in  the  British  museum,  the  sole  remaining  relic 
of  the  original  edition  which  was  partly  printed  at  Co- 
logne. Of  the  second  edition  only  two  copies  remain, 
so  e^ectually  did  the  enemies  of  the  Word  carry  their 
plans  into  operation. 

The  work  this  man  did  produced  lasting  fruit. 
But,  alas!  the  worker  had  only  ill4reatment  in  return. 
He  toiled  on  in  exile,  in  poverty,  and  sickness  for  a 
few  years.  He  worked  away  at  translations  of  the  Old 
Testament,  but  his  career  was  cut  short  by  the  malice 
of  his  enemies  and  the  treachery  of  false  friends.  Be- 
ing some  distance  from  his  home  one  day,  he  was 
seized  and  hurried  off  to  prison.  Here,  in  a  cold 
dungeon,  he  suffered  much,  until  at  last,  in  1536,  he 
was  strangled  at  the  stake  and  then  burnt  to  ashes. 
He  died  with  the  prayer  upon  his  lips,  "  Lord,  open 
the  King  of  England's  eyes."  In  his  last  hours  his 
thoughts  were  of  and  for  his  enemies.  How  like 
Him  who,  when  dying  on  the  cross  said,  "Father, 
^orgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do." 


xvn. 
AUTHORIZED  VERSIONS. 

|HE  blood  of  martyrs  is  the  seed  of 

the  Church."     In  the  case  of  Tyn- 

dale  this  was  truly  so,  and  the  seed 

took  root  and  produced  a   golden 

harvest.    Though  every  effort  was 

made  to  wipe  out  the  work  of  the 

old   Reformer   who   gave  his  life  to  translating  the 

Bible  into  English,  and  printing  and  circulating  it 

among  the  people,  the  work  he  did  lived  on  after  he 

'ff&s  dead.     In   three  years  after  he  was  killed,  an 

uthorized   edition  of    the    Bible    in    English   was 

)rinted  and  circulated  far  and  wide! 

There  was  a  law  which  said  that  all  who  read  the 
Scriptures  in  the  native  tongue  should  forfeit  land, 
cattle,  life,  goods — they  and  their  heirs  forever. 
They  burned  the  books  of  William  Tyndale,  then 
they  burned  his  bones;  and  many  another  brave  man 
lost  his  life  in  housing  and  circulating  the  Bible 
But  in  spite  of  all,  Tyndale's  work  took  root.  It  ifc 
not  in  the  power  of  man  to  hinder  the  work  of  God 
"  Potentates  have  proclaimed  their  edicts,  tyrants 
have  lighted  up  their  pyres,  and  mercenary  legions 


COVERDALE'S  BIBLE  103 

have  shed  rivers  of  human  blood  to  destroy  the  B^ble 
and  its  believers" ;  but  in  spite  of  them  all,  it  lives 
on.  The  more  men  have  tried  to  eradicate  the  Bible 
the  more  deeply  it  has  struck  the  roots;  and  the  more 
they  have  tried  to  blot  out  the  name  of  Christ,  the 
more  legible  and  glorious  it  has  become. 

THE  BIBLE  FOR  THE  PUBLIC. 

William  Tyndale  was  put  to  death  in  the  year 
1536.  His  offence  was  circulating  the  Word  of  God 
in  the  English  tongue.  It  seems  strange  to  us  in 
these  days,  when  the  Bible  is  so  much  respected  and 
loved,  that  men  should  have  lost  their  lives  in 
attempts  to  popularize  and  si)read  it  among  the  peo- 
ple. Tyndale's  death  and  the  fate  of  the  Bible  shortly 
afterwards  show  us  how  God  sometimes  brings  up 
one  man  to  sow  seed,  the  fruit  of  which  others  shall 
gather.  Little  did  the  men  who  burned  his  Bible 
and  burned  his  body,  think  that  in  the  space  of  three 
years  the  Bible  should  be  circulated  far  and  wide, 
with  due  authorization. 

THE  GBEAT  BIBLE. 

Such  was  the  fact;  for  in  the  year  1539  an  edition 
of  the  Scriptures,  called  "The  Great  Bible,"  was 
published  under  royal  authority,  and  thus  became  the 
the  first  authorized  copy  of  the  English  Bible. 
From  the  year  1535,  (one  year  before  Tyndale's 
death),  to  1539,  several  other  editions  of  the  English 


104  AUTHORIZED  VERSIONS 

Bible  had  appeared,  which  bore  the  names  of  Cov* 
erdaht  Matthews,  and  Taverner.  These  were  for 
the  most  part  based  on  the  work  of  Tyndale,  and 
the  Authorized  Bible  itself  was  very  little  more  than 
a  revision  of  his  work.  Among  the  men  who  read 
the  first  national  authorized  edition  of  the  English 
Scriptures  at  the  king's  command  was  Cuthbert 
Tunstall,  bishop  of  Durham,  who  when  bishop  of 
London  had  refused  to  shelter  and  help  Tyndale, 
and  who  had  found  the  money  to  buy  copies  of  the 
Bible  for  burning  at  Paul's  Cross. 

One  almost  wishes  that  the  sturdy  Reformer  had 
been  spared  for  a  few  years  longer  to  witness  the 
triumph  of  his  work.  It  was  his  lot  to  labor  while 
others  enjoyed;  to  scatter  what  others  should  gather; 
and  to  sow  what  others  should  reap.  In  it  all,  how- 
ever, God's  Word  was  honored,  the  salvation  of  men 
furthered,  and  the  glory  of  God  secured. 

After  the  publication  of  the  first  Authorized  Bible, 
in  1539,  the  work  of  revision  still  went  on.  It  did  not 
— it  could  not — stop.  Hitherto  nearly  all  those  who 
had  worked  at  Bible  translation  had  been  compelled 
to  carry  on  their  work  under  great  difficulties;  some- 
times in  hiding,  often  an  exile,  occasionally  in  prison. 
No  doubt  the  men  who  worked  under  these  condi- 
tions loved  their  work;  but  the  circumstances  did  not 
allow  them  to  produce  such  results  as  they  would 
have  done  if  they  could  have  had  free  access  to  libra- 
ries and  other  sources  of  information,  and  if  they  had 


^'GENEVA  "  AND  ''BISHOP'S''  BIBLE  106 

been  allowed  that  leisure  and  freedom  which  the  best 
work  requires.  After  the  year  at  which  we  have 
arrived  it  was  altogether  different.  Men  could  work 
at  the  Bible  in  open  day. 

THE   ENGLISH   BIBLE    PUBLICLY  HONORED. 

It  was  only  a  little  more  than  twenty  years  aftg, 
Tyndale's  death  that  Queen  Elizabeth  ascended  the 
throne  of  England  amid  the  universal  rejoicings  of 
the  people.  In  her  grand  entry  to  the  city  of  London 
she  was  presented  with  a  copy  of  the  English  Bible 
which  she  pressed  to  her  lips  and  to  her  heart  as  a 
precious  treasure.  Among  the  first  acts  of  this 
Queen,  we  may  note  that  she  set  at  liberty  all  per- 
sons  imprisoned  for  religion,  and  the  exiles  were 
allowed  to  return  home  to  England. 

Of  the  many  editions  of  the  Bible  which  appeared 
between  the  year  1539  and  the  year  1604,  we  need 
only  name  two. 

The  Geneva  Bible  was  published  in  1560.  It  bore 
this  name  because  it  was  the  work  of  many  scholarly 
men  who  passed  much  time  in  exile  at  Geneva, 
which  they  devoted  to  this  work.  It  was  the  most 
popular  of  all  versions  for  more  than  half  a  century 
This  was  the  first  English  Bible  which  laid  aside  the 
old  black  letter  and  appeared  in  Roman  type,  which 
divided  the  whole  into  verses,  and  entirely  omitted 
the  Apocrypha. 

The  Bishops*  Bihh  appeared  in  1568.     This  work 


106  AUTHORIZED  VERSIONS 

was  undertaken  by  Archbishop  Parker,  who  obtained 
the  assistance  of  a  number  of  bishops.  It  was  not  a 
success,  and  perhaps  had  less  popularity  than  any 
other  English  version. 

THE  AUTHORIZED   OR    KING  JAMES'  VERSION, 

In  less  than  fifty  years  from  the  accession  of  Eliz- 
abeth we  find  the  king  of  England  arranging  for  and 
directing  the  great  company  of  scholars  who  prepared 
the  splendid  edition  of  the  Bible  which  was  to  eclipse 
all  others  and  exist  down  to  our  day — the  one  honored 
and  treasured  as  the  authorized  version;  than  which 
no  book  ever  had  a  largejr  circulation,  a  wider  influ- 
ence, or  a  more  glorious  history. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1603  James  the  Sixth 
of  Scotland  came  to  the  throne  of  England  as  James 
the  First.  He  was  a  man  of  many  indiscretions,  but 
was  undoubtedly  possessed  of  considerable  scholarly 
attainments.  When  he  ascended  the  throne  of  Eng- 
land the  three  versions  of  the  Bible  which  we  have 
previously  noticed  were  in  use.  Six  months  after 
his  accession  there  was  a  conference  on  religious 
questions  at  Hampton  Court  Palace,  at  which  the 
king  presided.  Here  the  question  of  a  new  revision 
was  mooted,  and  warmly  taken  up  by  the  king. 
He  undertook  the  direction  of  the  matter,  and  seems 
really  to  have  shown  great  skill  and  judgment  in  the 
arrangements  which  he  made  and  caused  to  be  made. 


JINQ  JAMES'  BIBLE  107 

THE  COMPANY   OF   TRANSLATORS. 

A  company  of  fifty- four  learned  men  were  selected 
to  carry  out  the  work.  They  were  chosen  from  many 
parties  and  schools  of  Englishmen,  and  included 
some  of  the  best  known  scholars  of  the  day.  In- 
structions as  to  procedure  were  given  to  them,  and 
rules  formed  for  their  guidance.  After  much  labor 
and  prayer  their  work  was  completed,  and  given  to 
the  world  in  1611.    . 

That  they  did  their  work  well  we  may  see  in  the 
fact  that  for  more  than  two  and  a  half  centuries  this 
version  has  remained  in  possession  of  the  field.  It  is 
dear  alike  to  the  hearts  of  the  rich  and  poor.  It  has 
found  its  way  into  the  palace  and  the  cottage.  Its 
sweet  and  simple  message  is  welcomed  in  the  home 
of  the  prince  and  the  peasant,  and  has  been  the  light 
of  life  to  countless  thousands  of  souls. 


XVIII. 
THE  REVISED  VERSION. 

I  HE  Revised  Version  is  considered 
by  many  to  be  the  most  correct 
English  Bible  the  world  has  known. 
This  will  be  easily  understood  by 
all  if  it  is  remembered  how  learn- 
ing has  progressed  and  what  dis- 
coveries of  valuable  manuscripts  have  been  made 
since  King  James'  version  was  published  in  the  early 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  that  the  result 
of  all  advance  is  embodied  in  our  Revised  Version. 

It  is  no  reflection  upon  the  scholarly  men  who  pro 
duced  the  Authorized  Version  of  1611  to  say  that 
they  were  not  so  well  able  to  give  the  sense  of  the 
ancient  Scriptures  as  were  the  great  company  of  mod- 
em scholars  who  produced  the  Revised  Version.  Dur- 
ing the  last  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  large  numbers 
of  men  have  devoted  much  time  and  attention  to  the 
study  and  comparison  of  the  ancient  manuscripts  of 
the  Bible.  And  to-day  we  are  richer  both  in  the 
number  of  eminent  scholars  and  in  the  general  knowl- 
edge of  Hebrew  and  Greek  than  our  fathers  were. 
In  1611  the  Sinaitic  manuscript  discovered  by  Tisch- 

108~ 


FRESH  DISCOVERIES  109 

endorf,  as  we  have  described  in  an  earlier  chapter,  lay 
buried  among  the  dust  and  rubbish  of  a  monastery 
The  Alexandrian  manuscript,  now  in  the  British  Mu- 
seum,  was  not  in  the  country;  and  the  Vatican  man- 
uscript, which  lay  in  the  library  of  Rome,  was  not 
available. 

These  three  ancient  manuscripts  are  among  the  most 
valuable  in  the  world;  but  they  were  not  accessible  to 
the  men  who  worked  to  produce  the  Bible  which  has 
held  sway  in  England  for  so  long.  But  all  these,  and 
many  precious  documents  besides,  were  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  men  who  have  given  us  the  Revised  Ver- 
sion. It  is  thus  seen  that  greatly  improved  knowl- 
edge  of  ancient  languages,  as  well  as  the  possession 
of  more  correct  texts  of  the  original  Scriptures,  have 
aided  the  men  of  these  days  in  their  great  and  im- 
X)ortant  work. 

WHY  HAVE  A  REVISED  VERSION? 

Some  have  wondered  why  it  was  that  any  Revised 
Version  was  undertaken.  The  old  book,  they  say, 
has  served  well  for  many  generations;  why  could  it 
not  be  left  to  go  on  its  way? 

We  can  quite  understand  this  way  of  putting  it; 
but  if  we  think  of  the  many  and  great  changes  which 
have  gone  on  in  our  English  language  during  the 
past  two  hundred  and  fifty  years,  we  shall  see  that 
it  was  desirable  to  change  many  forms  of  expression 
in  our  version  of  the  Scripture;  forms  which  do  not 


110  THE  REVISED  VERSION 

in  some  cases,  convey  correct  meaning  to  the  readers. 
And,  besides,  we  know  that  in  many  places  we  did 
not  get  so  near  to  the  meanings  of  the  inspired  Word 
as  it  is  now  possible  to  get.  Research  in  the  lan- 
guages used  by  the  men  who  were  inspired  of  God 
has  yielded  much  information  which  was  not  within 
the  reach  of  our  fathers.  All  of  these  things  and  some 
others,  not  only  rendered  it  desirable  to  have  a  fresh 
version,  but  enabled  us  to  produce  one  better  than 
that  we  had,  good  and  excellent  though  it  was. 

THE  REVISERS  AND  THEIR  WORK. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  show  in  a  few  sentences 
how  the  revision  was  brought  about,  and  how  the  re- 
visers went  to  work.  It  was  in  the  year  1870  that 
the  decision  was  taken  to  get  together  a  large  and 
representative  body  of  scholars  who  should  be 
charged  with  the  grave  and  solemn  duty  of  revising 
the  Bible.  A  company  of  able  men,  numbering  some 
sixty-five,  was  appointed  for  carrying  on  the  work  in 
England.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  this  company  in- 
cluded scholars  of  all  denominations.  There  were 
forty=oue  who  belonged  to  the  Church  of  England, 
and  twenty-four  belonging  to  other  bodies,  including, 
the  Church  of  Ireland,  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
the  Baptists,  Congregationalists,  Presbyterians,  and 
Methodists. 

In  addition  to  this  assembly,  a  committee  of 
scholars  was   formed  in  America  who  should  co=op- 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  COMPLETED  l}\ 

erate  with  the  revisers  in  England.  This  commit- 
tee also  included  men  of  various  denominations,  and 
numbered  thirty=four.  Putting  both  committees 
together,  we  get  the  large  number  of  ninety=nine 
who  took  part  in  this  holy  and  useful  work.  The 
great  company  was  divided  into  two  committees:  one 
charged  with  the  work  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the 
other  with  the  work  of  the  New.  General  principles 
for  the  guidance  of  all  were  agreed  upon.  On  June 
22,  1870,  the  New  Testament  Company  held  its  first 
meeting;  and  on  June  30,  the  Old  Testament  Com- 
pany first  assembled. 

COMPLETION  OF   THE  GREAT   WORK. 

We  cannot  follow  these  good  men  through  all 
their  labors;  but  that  they  were  diligent  and  faithful 
is  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  New  Testament  Company 
alone  held  four  hundred  and  seven  meetings  in  the 
years  over  which  their  work  extended,  and  the  total 
number  of  attendances  is  reported  as  six  thousand 
four  hundred  and  twenty-six.  The  Old  Testament 
Company  did  not  reach  the  consummation  of  its  toils 
until  June  20,  1884,  thus  having  been  at  work 
for  fourteen  years.  The  New  Testament  Company 
finished  its  work,  on  November  11,  1880,  and  as- 
sembled together  in  a  service  of  thanksgiving  and 
prayer  to  God  for  His  goodness. 

INTEREST   IN    THE  NEW  VERSION. 

When  it  was  known  that  the  Kevised  New  Testa- 


112  THE  REVISED  VERSION 

ment  was  completed,  the  people  eagerly  looked  for 
its  publication.  For  the  next  few  months  printers 
and  binders  were  hard  at  work  upon  the  sacred 
volume,  some  thousands  being  employed.  When  the 
work  was  published  in  the  following  May  (1881),  it  is 
said  that  one  million  copies  were  issued  to  the  public 
during  the  first  twenty^four  hours;  and  in  order  to 
avoid  the  rush  for  the  book,  and  to  meet  the  de- 
mand for  it  as  well  as  possible,  the  publication  be- 
gan at  midnight.  Not  only  was  this  New  Testament 
circulated  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  but  nearly  all  the 
newspapers  called  attention  to  it  bv  the  criticisms 
which  they  made  upon  it. 

America  was  as  eager  for  the  Word  of  God  as  Eng- 
land. Arrangements  were  made  for  its  publication 
in  New  York  on  Friday,  the  same  day  on  which  it 
was  issued  in  England,  Chicago  was  as  anxious  to 
have  the  Bible  as  was  New  York;  but  as  the  fastest 
train  then  known  could  not  travel  the  distance  be- 
tween the  two  cities  in  less  than  twenty^six  hours,  it 
seemed  as  if  Chicago  would  have  to  be  content  to 
have  the  Kevised  Bible  a  day  or  two  after  New  York 
had  received  it. 
X  No  train  could  reach  Chicago  on  Saturday  until  after 
the  stores  and  printing  places  had  all  closed.  What 
was  to  be  done?  Were  the  inhabitants  of  this  city  to 
wait  for  the  Scriptures  until  the  following  week?  Not 
so,  said  the  proprietor  of  one  of  the  daily  papers;  Chi- 


A   GREAT  ACHIEVEMENT  118 

cago  shall  have  the  New  Testament  at  least  within 
one  day  after  New  York  gets  it!  Ninety  telegraphic 
operators  were  set  to  work,  and  sent  the  whole  of  the 
precious  Book,  Matthew  to  Revelation,  over  the  wires. 
Men  were  ready  to  set  up  the  type  in  great  haste, 
and  the  Kevised  New  Testament  was  sold,  com- 
plete, on  the  streets  of  Chicago  on  the  next  day  after 
its  publication  in  England  and  in  New  York. 

It  may  well  be  doubted  if  anything  so  remarkable 
ever  happened  in  connection  with  the  sacred  Script- 
ures either  before  or  since.  What  would  William 
Tyndale  or  John  Wycliffe  have  thought  about  this 
great  achievement  had  they  been  able  to  witness  it? 


Note  :— When  the  work  of  revision  was  completed  In  1885  by  the  Eng- 
lish and  American  committees,  as  indicated  in  the  previous  pages,  the 
members  of  the  American  committee  pledged  themselves  not  to  sanction 
any  other  edition  than  that  published  in  England  during  a  period  of 
fourteen  years.  They  decided,  however,  not  to  disband,  but  to  continue 
their  organization  and  work  in  anticipation  of  a  possible  demand  for  a 
revision  which  should  incorporate  readings  and  renderings  proposed  by 
them  and  which  the  English  revisers  printed  in  an  appendix,  when  not 
adopted  In  the  text. 

On  the  expiration  of  the  fourteen  years  It  seemed  expedient  that  such 
an  American  edition  should  be  issued,  and  this  was  accordingly  done  in 
the  year  1901 

The  main  differences  between  the  English  and  American  revisions  are 
as  follows: 

The  latter  retains  the  name  "Jehovah"  in  the  text.  Instead  of  trans 
lating  it  as  "Lord"  or  "Gou."  It  Ismore  strictly  uniform  in  the  transla- 
tion and  use  of  other  words  It  has  modernized  some  expressions  piissed 
over  by  the  English  revision, and  In  many  cases  returnsto  the  Authorized 
version  s  readings.  It  may  perhaps  therefore  be  said  that  the  An)«.  rican 
revision  is  the  best  and  latest  result  of  Christian  scholarship  In  piviugu 
translation  from  the  t  riplr.al  laDgnaj-'es  irio  pi*,  si  t  ray  Erj,lith 


TEN  REASONS  WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE 

BIBLE  IS  THE  WORD 

OF  GOD. 

Bv   R.  A.  TORREY. 


WAS  brought  up  to  believe  that 
the  Bible  was  the  Word  of  God, 
In  early  life  I  accepted  it  as  such 
upon  the  authority  of  my  parents, 
and  never  gave  the  question  any 
serious  thought.  But  later  in  life 
my  faith  in  the  Bible  was  utterly  shattered  through 
the  influence  of  the  writings  of  a  very  celebrated, 
scholarly  and  brilliant  sceptic.  I  found  myself  face 
to  face  with  the  question,  JVhy  do  you  believe  the 
Bible  is  the  Word  of  God? 

I  had  no  satisfactory  answer.  I  determined  to  go 
to  the  bottom  of  this  question.  If  satisfactory  proof 
could  not  be  found  that  the  Bible  was  God's  Word  I 
would  give  the  whole  thing  up.  cost  what  it  might. 
If  satisfactory  proof  could  be  found  that  the  Bible 
was  God's  Word  I  would  take  my  stand  upon  it,  cost 
what  it  might.  I  doubtless  had  many  friends  who 
could  have  answered  the  question  satisfactorily,  but 
I  was  unwilling  to  confide  to  them  the  struggle  that 

114 


TJtiE  TESTIMONY  OF  JESUS  CHRIST  116 

was  going  on  in  my  own  heart;  so  I  sought  help  from 
God  and  from  books,  and  after  much  painful  study 
and  thought  came  out  of  the  darkness  of  scepticism 
into  the  broad  daylight  of  faith  and  certainty  that  the 
Bible  from  beginning  to  end  is  God's  Word.  The  fol- 
lowing pages  are  largely  the  outcome  of  that  experi- 
ence of  conflict  and  final  victory.  I  will  give  Ten 
Reasons  why  I  believe  the  Bible  is  the  Word  of  God. 

First,  on  the  ground  of  the  testimony  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

Many  people  accept  the  authority  of  Christ  who  do 
not  accept  that  of  the  Bible  as  a  whole.  We  all  must 
accept  His  authority.  He  is  accredited  to  us  by  five 
Divine  testimonies: by  the  testimony  of  the  Divine  life 
He  lived;  by  the  testimony  of  the  Divine  words  He 
spoke;  by  tlie  testimony  of  the  Divine  works  He 
wrought;  by  the  Divine  attestation  of  the  resurrection 
from  the  dead ;  and  by  the  testimony  of  His  Divine  influ- 
ence upon  the  history  of  mankind.  But  if  we  accept  the 
authority  of  Christ  we  must  accept  the  authority  of  the 
Bible  as  a  whole.  He  testifies  definitely  and  specific- 
ally to  the  Divine  authorship  of  the  whole  Bible. 

We  find  His  testimony  as  to  the  Old  Testament  in 
Mark  7:  13.  Here  He  calls  the  law  of  Moses  the 
"  Word  of  God."  That,  of  course,  covers  only  the 
first  five  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  but  in  Luke 
24: 27  we  read,  "  And  beginning  at  Moses  and  all  the 


116       TEN  REASONS  WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BIBLE 

prophets,  He  expounded  nnto  them  m  all  the  Scrip' 
iures  the  things  concerning  Himself,"  and  in  the 
forty^fourth  verse  He  said,  "All  things  must  be 
fulfilled  which  were  written  in  the  law  of  Moses 
and  in  the  prophets  and  the  Psalms."  The  Jews, 
divided  the  Old  Testament  into  three  parts  —  the 
Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the  Psalms — and  Christ 
takes  np  each  of  these  parts  and  sets  the  stamp  of  His 
authority  upon  it.  In  John  10:  35  Christ  says,  "  The 
Scripture  cannot  be  broken,"  thereby  teaching  the 
absolute  accuracy  and  inviolability  of  iae  Old  Testa- 
ment, More  specifically  still,  if  possible,  in  Matt, 
5: 18,  Jesus  says,  **  One  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  in  no 
wise  pass  from  the  law  till  all  be  fulfilled."  A  jot  is 
the  smallest  letter  in  the  Hebrew  alphabet — less  than 
half  the  size  of  any  other  letter,  and  a  tittle  is  the 
merest  point  of  a  consonant — less  than  the  cross  we 
put  on  a  "  t," — and  Christ  here  declares  that  the  Scrip, 
lure  is  absolutely  true,  down  to  the  smallest  letter  or 
point  of  a  letter.  So  if  we  accept  the  authority  of 
Christ  we  must  accept  the  Divine  authority  of  the 
entire  Old  Testament. 

Now,  as  to  the  New  Testament.  We  find  Christ's 
endorsement  of  it  in  John  14: 26,  "  The  Holy  Ghost, 
whom  the  Father  will  send  in  my  name.  He  shall 
teach  you  all  things  and  bring  all  things  to  your 
remembrance,  whatsoever  I  have  said  unto  you.' 
Here  we  see  that  not  only  was  the  teaching  of  the 


FULFILLED  PROPHECIES  117 

Apostles  to  be  fully  inspired,  but  also  their  recollec- 
tion of  what  Christ  Himself  taught.  We  are  some- 
times asked  how  we  know  that  the  Apostles  correctly 
reported  what  Jesus  said — "  may  they  not  have  for- 
gotten? "  True,  the>  might  forget,  but  Christ  Him- 
self  tells  us  that  in  the  Gospels  we  have,  not  the  Apos- 
tles' recollection  of  what  He  said,  but  the  Holy 
Ghost's  recollection,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  never  for- 
gets. In  John  16:  13,  14,  Christ  said  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  should  guide  the  Apostles  into  "  all  the  truth," 
therefore  in  the  New  Testament  teaching  we  have  the 
whole  sphere  of  God's  truth.  The  teaching  of  the 
Apostles  is  more  complete  than  that  of  Jesus  Himself, 
for  He  says  in  John  16: 12,  "  I  have  yet  many  things 
to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now.  How- 
beit,  when  He,  the  Spirit  of  truth  is  come,  He  shall 
guide  you  into  all  ilie  iruth,^^  While  His  own  teach- 
ing had  been  partial,  because  of  their  weakness,  the 
teaching  of  the  Apostles,  under  the  promised  Spirit, 
was  to  take  in  the  whole  sphere  of  God's  truth. 

So  if  we  accept  the  authority  of  Christ  we  must 
accept  that  of  the  whole  Bible,  but  we  must,  as  al- 
ready seen,  accept  Christ's  authority. 

Second,  on  the  ground  of  Us  fulfilled  prophecies. 

There  are  two  classes  of  prophecies  in  the  Bible — 
first,  the  explicit,  verbal  prophecies,  second,  those  of 
the  types. 


118        TEN  REASONS  WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BIBLE 

In  the  first  we  have  the  definite  prophecies  con- 
cerning  the  Jews,  the  heathen  nations-  and  the 
Messiah.  Taking  the  prophecies  regarding  the 
Messiah  as  an  illustration,  look  at  Isaiah  53,  Mic.  5: 
2,  Dan.  9: 25-27.  Many  others  might  be  mentioned, 
but  these  will  serve  as  illui&trations.  In  these 
prophecies,  written  hundreds  of  years  before  the 
Messiah  came,  we  have  the  most  explicit  statements 
as  to  the  manner  and  place  of  His  birth,  the  manner 
of  His  reception  by  men,  how  His  life  would  end. 
His  resurrection  and  His  victory  succeeding  His 
death.  When  made,  these  prophecies  were  exceed- 
ingly improbable,  and  seemingly  impossible  of  fulfil- 
ment; but  they  were  fulfilled  to  the  very  minutest 
detail  of  manner  and  place  and  time.  How  are 
we  to  account  for  it?  Man  could  not  have  forseen 
these  improbable  events — they  lay  hundreds  of 
years  ahead — but  God  could,  and  it  is  God  who 
speaks  through  these  men. 

But  the  prophecies  of  the  types  are  more  remark- 
able still.  Everything  in  the  Old  Testament— his- 
tory, institutions,  ceremonies — is  prophetical.  The 
high-priesthood,  the  ordinary  priesthood,  the  Levites, 
the  prophets,  priests  and  kings,  are  all  prophecies. 
The  tabernacle,  the  brazen  altar,  the  laver,  the  golden 
candlestick,  the  table  of  shewbread,  the  veil,  the 
altar  of  incense,  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  the  very 
coverings  of  the  tabernacle,  are  prophecies.     In  all 


THE  UNITY  OF  THE  BOOK  !!• 

these  things,  as  we  study  them  minutely  and  soberly 
in  the  light  of  the  history  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the 
church,  we  see,  wrapped  up  in  the  ancient  institu- 
tions ordained  of  God  to  meet  an  immediate  purpose, 
prpphecies  of  the  death,  atonement,  and  resurrection 
of  Christ,  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and  the  entire  history 
of  the  church.  We  see  the  profoundest  Christian 
doctrines  of  the  New  Testament  clearly  foreshadowed 
In  these  institutions  of  the  Old  Testament.  The 
only  way  in  which  you  can  appreciate  this  is  to  get 
into  the  Book  itself  and  study  all  about  the  sacri- 
fices and  feasts,  etc.,  till  you  see  the  truths  of  the 
New  Testament  shining  out  in  the  Old.  If,  in 
studying  some  elementary  form  of  life,  I  find  a  rudi- 
mentary organ,  useless  now,  but  by  the  process  of  de- 
velopment to  become  of  use  in  that  animaPs  des- 
cendant, I  say,  back  of  this  rudimentary  organ  is 
God,  who,  in  the  earlier  animal,  is  preparing  for 
the  life  and  necessities  of  the  animal  that  is  to 
come.  So,  going  back  to  these  preparations  in  the 
Bible  for  the  truth  that  is  to  be  clearly  taught  at 
a  later  day,  there  is  only  one  scientific  way  to  ac- 
count for  them,  namely.  He  who  knows  and  prepares 
for  the  end  from  the  beginning  is  the  author  of  that 
Book. 

Third,  on  the  ground  of  the  unity  of  the  book. 
This   is  an  old  argument,  but  a  very  satisfactory 


130        TEN  REASONS  WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BIBLE 

one  The  Bible  consists  of  sixty=six  books,  writ- 
ten by  more  than  thirty  different  men,  extending 
in  the  period  of  its  composition  over  more  than 
fifteen  hundred  years;  written  in  three  different 
languages,  in  many  different  countries,  and  by  men 
on  every  plane  of  social  life,  from  the  herdman 
a  nd  fisherman  and  cheap  politician  up  to  the  king 
upon  his  throne;  written  under  all  sorts  of  circum- 
stances; yet  in  all  this  wonderful  conglomeration  we 
find  an  absolute  unity  of  thought. 

A  wonderful  thing  about  it  is  that  this  unity  does 
not  lie  on  the  surface.  On  the  surface  there  is 
oftentimes  apparent  contradiction,  and  the  unity  only 
comes  out  after  deep  and  protracted  study. 

More  wonderful  yet  is  the  organic  character  of 
this  unity,  beginning  in  the  first  book  and  growing 
till  you  come  to  its  culmination  in  the  last  book  of 
the  Bible.  We  have  first  the  seed,  then  the  plant, 
then  the  bud,  then  the  blossom,  then  the  ripened 
fruit. 

Suppose  a  vast  building  were  to  be  erected,  the 
stones  for  which  were  brought  from  the  quarries  in 
Rutland,  Vermont;  Berea,  Ohio;  Kasota,  Minnesota, 
and  Middletown,  Connecticut.  Each  stone  was  hewn 
into  final  shape  in  the  quarry  from  which  it  was 
brought.  These  stones  were  of  all  varieties  of  shape 
and  size,  cubical,  rectangular,  cylindrical,  etc.,  but 
when  they  were  brought  together  every  stone  fitted 


J  IS  IMMEASURABLE  SUPERIORITY  121 

into  its  place,  and  when  put  together  there  rose  before 
you  a  temple  absolutely  perfect  in  every  outline,  with 
its  domes,  sidewalls,  buttresses,  arches,  transepts— 
not  a  gap  or  a  flaw  anywherOc  How  would  you  ac- 
count for  it?     You  would  say: 

"  Back  of  these  individual  workers  in  the  quarries, 
was  the  master-mind  of  the  architect  who  planned  it 
all,  and  gave  to  each  individual  worker  his  specifica- 
tions  for  the  work." 

So  in  this  marvelous  temple  of  God's  truth  which 
we  call  the  Bible,  whose  stones  have  been  quarried  at 
periods  of  time  and  in  places  so  remote  from  one  another, 
but  where  every  smallest  part  fits  each  other  part,  we 
sre  forced  to  say  that  back  of  the  human  hands  that 
wrought  was  the  Master=mind  that  thought. 

Fourth,  qu  the  ground  of  ihe  immeasurcible  superu 
ority  of  ihe  teachings  of  the  Bible  to  those  of  any 
other  and  all  other  books. 

It  is  quite  fashionable  in  some  quarters  to  compare 
the  teachings  of  the  Bible  with  the  teachings  of 
Zoroaster,  and  Buddha,  and  Confucius,  and  Epictetus, 
and  Socrates,  and  Marcus  Aurelius  Antoninus,  and  a 
number  of  other  heathen  authors.  The  difference  be- 
tween the  teachings  of  the  Bible  and  those  of  these 
men  is  found  in  three  points — 

First,  the  Bible  has  in  it  nothing  but  truth,  while  all 
the  others  hava  truth  mixed  with  prr()r.     It  is  true 


122       TEN  REASONS  WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BIBLE 

Socrates  taught  how  a  philosopher  ought  to  die;  he 
also  taught  how  a  woman  of  the  town  ought  to  conduct 
her  business.  Jewels  there  are  in  the  teachings  of 
these  men,  but  (as  Joseph  Cook  once  said)  they  are 
"  jewels  picked  out  of  the  mud." 

Second,  the  Bible  contains  all  truth.  There  is  not 
a  truth  to  be  found  anywhere  on  moral  or  spiritual 
subjects  that  you  cannot  find  in  substance  within  the 
covers  of  that  old  Book.  I  have  often,  when  speak- 
ing upon  this  subject,  asked  anyone  to  bring  me  a 
single  truth  on  moral  or  spiritual  subjects,  which,  upon 
reflection,  I  could  not  find  within  the  covers  of  this 
book,  and  no  one  has  ever  been  able  to  do  it.  I  have 
taken  pains  to  compare  some  of  the  better  teachings 
of  infidels  with  those  of  the  Bible.  They  indeed  have 
jewels  of  thought,  but  they  are,  whether  they  knew  it 
or  not,  stolen  jewels,  and  stolen  from  the  very  book 
they  ridicule. 

The  third  point  of  superiority  is  this:  the  Bible  con- 
tains more  truth  than  all  other  books  together.  Get 
together  from  all  literature  of  ancient  and  modern 
times  all  the  beautiful  thoughts  you  can;  put  away 
all  the  rubbish;  put  all  these  truths  that  you  have 
culled  from  the  literature  of  all  ages  into  one  book, 
and  as  the  result,  even  then  you  will  not  have  a  book 
that  will  take  the  place  of  this  one  book. 

This  is  not  a  large  book.  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  copy 
that  I  carry  in  my  vest  pocket,  and  yet  in  this  one  lit- 


ITS  VICTORY  OVER  ATTACK  128 

tie  book  there  is  more  of  truth  than  in  all  the  books 
which  man  has  produced  in  all  the  ages  of  his  history. 
How  will  you  account  for  it?  There  is  only  one  ra- 
tional way.    This  is  not  man's  book,  but  God's  book. 

Fifth,  on  the  ground  of  the  history  of  the  hook,  its 
victory  over  attack. 

This  book  has  always  been  hated.  No  sooner  was 
it  given  to  the  world  than  it  met  the  hatred  of  men, 
and  they  tried  to  stamp  it  out.  Celsus  tried  it  by  the 
brilliancy  of  his  genius,  Porphyry  by  the  depth  of  his 
philosophy;  but  they  failed.  Lucian  directed  against 
it  the  shafts  of  his  ridicule,  Diocletian  the  power  of 
the  Roman  empire;  but  they  failed.  Edicts  backed 
by  all  the  power  of  the  empire  were  issued  that  every 
Bible  should  be  burned,  and  that  everyone  who  had  a 
Bible  should  be  put  to  death.  For  eighteen  centuries 
every  engine  of  destruction  that  human  science,  phi- 
losophy, wit,  reasoning  or  brutality  could  bring  to  bear 
against  a  book  has  been  brought  to  bear  against  that 
book  to  stamp  it  out  -of  the  world,  but  it  has  a 
mightier  hold  on  the  world  to=day  than  ever  before. 

If  that  were  man's  book  it  would  have  been  annihi- 
lated and  forgotten  hundreds  of  years  ago,  but  because 
there  is  in  it  "  the  hiding  of  God's  power,"  though  at 
times  all  the  great  men  of  the  world  have  been  against 
it,  and  only  an  obscure  remnant  for  it,  still  it  has  ful- 
filled wonderfully  the  words  of  Christ,  though  not  in 


124       TEN  REASONS  WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BIBLE 

the  sense  of  the  original  prophecy,  "Heaven  and 
earth  shall  pass  away,  but  my  word  shall  not  pass 
away." 

Sixth,  on  the  ground  of  the  character  of  those  who 
accept  and  of  those  who  reject  the  hook. 

Two  things  speak  for  the  divinity  of  the  Bible — the 
character  of  those  who  accept  it,  and,  equally,  the^ 
character  of  those  who  reject  it.  I  do  not  mean  by 
this  that  every  man  who  professes  to  believe  the  book 
is  better  than  every  man  that  does  not,  but  show  me 
a  man  living  an  unselfish,  devoted  life,  one  who  with- 
out reservation  has  surrendered  himself  to  do  the  will 
of  God,  and  I  will  show  you  a  man  who  believes  the 
Bible  to  be  God's  Word.  On  the  other  hand,  show  me 
a  man  who  rejects  the  Divine  authority  of  that  book, 
and  I  will  show  you  a  man  living  a  life  of  greed,  or 
lust,  or  spiritual  pride,  or  self  will. 

Suppose  you  have  a  book  purporting  to  be  by  a  cer- 
tain author,  and  the  people  best  acquainted  with  that 
author  say  it  is  his,  and  the  people  least  acquainted 
with  him  say  it  is  not;  which  will  you  believe?  Now, 
the  people  best  acquainted  with  God  say  the  Bible  is 
His  book;  those  who  are  least  acquainted  with  God 
say  it  is  not.     Which  will  you  believe? 

Furthermore,  as  men  grow  better  they  are  more 
likely  to  accept  the  Bible,  and  as  they  grow  worse 
they  are  more  likely  to  reject  it.     We  have  all  known 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  BOOK  125 

men  who  were  both  sinful  and  unbelieving,  who  by 
forsaking  their  sin  lost  their  unbelief.  Did  any  of  us 
ever  know  a  man  who  was  sinful  and  believing,  who 
by  forsaking  his  sin  lost  his  faith?  The  nearer  men 
live  to  God  the  more  confident  they  are  that  the  Bible 
is  God's  Word;  the  farther  they  get  away  from  Him 
the  more  confident  they  are  that  it  is  not. 

Where  is  the  stronghold  of  the  Bible?  In  the 
pure,  unselfish,  happy  home.  Where  is  the  strong- 
hold of  infidelity?  The  gambling  hell,  the  drinking 
saloon  and  the  brothel.  If  a  man  should  walk  into 
a  saloon  and  lay  a  Bible  down  upon  the  bar,  and 
order  a  drink,  we  should  think  there  was  a  strange 
incongruity  in  his  actions,  but  if  he  should  lay  any 
infidel  writing  upon  the  bar,  and  order  a  drink,  we 
would  not  feel  that  there  was  any  incongruity. 

Seventh,  on  the  ground  of  the  influence  of  the 
hook. 

There  is  more  power  in  that  little  book  to  save 
men,  and  purify,  gladden  and  beautify  their  lives, 
than  in  all  other  literature  put  together— more  power 
to  lift  men  up  to  God.  A  stream  never  rises  higher 
than  its  source,  and  a  book  that  has  a  power  to  lift 
men  up  to  God  that  no  other  book  has,  must  have 
come  down  from  God  in  a  way  that  no  other  book 
has. 

I  have  in  mind  as  I   write  a  man   who  was  thp 


.26       TEN  REASONS  WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BIBLE 

most  complete  victim  of  strong  drink  I  ever  knew;  a 
man  of  marvelous  intellectual  gifts,  but  who  had  been 
stupefied  and  brutalized  and  demonized  by  the  power 
of  sin,  and  he  was  an  infidel.  At  last  the  light  of 
God  shone  into  his  darkened  heart,  and  by  the  power 
of  that  book  he  has  been  transformed  into  ouq  of  the 
humblest,  sweetest,  noblest  men  I  know  to-day. 

What  other  book  would  have  done  that?  What 
other  book  has  the  power  to  elevate  not  only  individ« 
uals  but  communities  and  nations  that  this  book 
has? 

Eighth,  (m  the  ground  of  the  inexhaustible  depth 
of  the  hook. 

Nothing  has  been  added  to  it  in  eighteen  hundred 
years,  yet  a  man  like  Bunsen,  or  Neander,  cannot  ex- 
haust it  by  the  study  of  a  lifetime.  George  Miiller 
read  it  through  more  than  one  hundred  times,  and 
said  it  was  fresher  every  time  he  read  it.  Could  that 
be  true  of  any  other  book? 

But  more  wonderful  than  this — not  only  individ- 
ual men  but  generations  of  men  for  eighteen  hundred 
years  have  dug  into  it  and  given  to  the  world  thou- 
sands of  volumes  devoted  to  its  exposition,  and  they 
havanot  reached  the  bottom  of  the  quarry  yet.  A  book 
that  man  produces  man  can  exhaust,  but  all  men  to- 
gether have  not  been  able  to  get  to  the  bottom  of  this 
book.     How  are  you  going  to  account  for  it?      Only 


THE  FACT  THAT  WE  GROW  IN  HOLINESS         137 

in  this  way — that  in  this  book  are  hidden  the  infinite 
and  inexhaustible  treasures  of  the  wisdom  and  knowl- 
edge of  God. 

A  brilliant  Unitarian  writer,  in  trying  to  disprove 
the  inspiration  of  the  Bible,  says:  "How  irreligious 
to  charge  an  infinite  God  with  having  written  His 
whole  Word  in  so  small  a  book."  He  does  not  see  how 
his  argument  can  be  turned  against  himself.  What  a 
testimony  it  is  to  the  divinity  of  this  book  that  such 
infinite  wisdom  is  stored  away  in  so  small  a  compass. 

Ninth,  on  the  ground  of  the  fact  that  as  we  grow 
in  knowledge  and  holiness  we  grow  toward  the  Bible 

Every  thoughtful  person  when  he  starts  out  to 
study  the  Bible  finds  many  things  with  which  he 
does  not  agree,  but  as  he  goes  on  studying  and  grow- 
ing in  likeness  to  God,  the  nearer  he  gets  to  God  the 
nearer  he  gets  to  the  Bible.  The  nearer  and  nearer 
we  get  to  God's  standpoint  the  less  and  less  becomes 
the  disagreement  between  us  and  the  Bible.  What 
is  the  inevitable  mathematical  conclusion?  Wh^^n 
we  get  where  God  is,  we  and  the  Bible  will  meet.  1  n 
other  words,  the  Bible  was  written  from  God's  stand 
point. 

Suppose  you  are  traveling  through  a  forest  undf-r 
the  conduct  of  an  experienced  and  highly  recommend- 
ed guide.  You  come  to  a  place  where  two  roads  di- 
verge.   The  guide  says  the  road  to  the  left  is  thb  one 


128       TEN  REASONS  WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BIBLE 

to  take,  but  your  own  judgment  passing  upon  the 
facts  before  it  sees  clear  evidence  that  the  road  to  the 
right  is  the  one  to  take.  You  turn  and  say  to  the 
guide, 

"  I  know  you  have  had  large  experience  in  this 
forest,  and  you  have  come  to  me  highly  recommend- 
ed, but  my  own  judgment  tells  me  clearly  that  the 
road  to  the  right  is  the  one  we  should  take,  and  I  must 
follow  my  own  judgment.  I  know  my  reason  is  not 
infallible,  but  it  is  the  best  guide  I  have." 

But  after  you  have  followed  that  path  for  some  dis- 
tance you  are  obliged  to  stop,  turn  around  and  go 
back  and  take  the  path  which  the  guide  said  was  the 
right  one. 

After  a  while  you  come  to  another  place  where  two 
roads  diverge.  Now  the  guide  says  the  road  to  the 
right  is  the  one  to  take,  but  your  judgment  clearly 
says  the  one  to  the  left  is  the  one  to  take,  and  again 
you  follow  your  own  judgment  with  the  same  result 
as  before. 

After  you  had  this  experience  forty  or  fifty  times, 
and  found  yourself  wrong  every  time,  I  think  you 
would  have  sense  enough  the  next  time  to  follow  the 
guide. 

That  is  just  my  experience  with  the  Bible.  I 
received  it  at  first  on  the  authority  of  others.  Like 
almost  all  other  young  men,  my  confidence  became 
shaken,  and  I  came  to  the  fork  in  the  road  more  than 


rHB  TESTIMONY  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT  1J8 

forty  times,  and  I  followed  my  own  reason,  and  in 
the  outcome  found  myself  wrong  and  the  Bible  right 
3very  time,  and  I  trust  that  from  this  time  on  I  shall 
have  sense  enough  to  follow  the  teachings  of  the 
Bible  whatever  my  own  judgment  may  say. 

Tenth,  on  the  ground  of  the  direct  testimony  oj 
the  Holy  Spirit. 

We  began  with  God  and  shall  end  with  God. 
We  began  with  the  testimony  of  the  second  person 
of  the  Trinity,  and  shall  close  with  that  of  the  third 
person  of  the  Trinity. 

The  Holy  Spirit  sets  His  seal  in  the  soul  o! 
every  believer  to  the  Divine  authority  of  the  Bible. 
It  is  possible  to  get  to  a  place  where  we  need  no 
argument  to  prove  that  the  Bible  is  God's  Word. 
Christ  says,  "  My  sheep  know  my  voice,"  and  God's 
children  know  His  voice,  and  I  know  that  the  voice 
that  speaks  to  me  from  the  pages  of  that  Book  is  the 
voice  of  my  Father.  You  will  sometimes  meet  a 
pious  old  lady,  who  tells  you  that  she  knows  that  the 
Bible  is  God's  Word,  and  when  you  ask  her  for  a  rea- 
son for  believing  that  it  is  God's  Word  she  can  give 
you  none.     She  simply  says: 

"  I  know  it  is  God's  Word." 

You  say:  "That is  mere  superstition." 

Not  at  all.  She  is  one  of  Christ's  sheep,  and  recog- 
nizes her  Shepherd's  voice   from   every  other  voice. 


I8d       TEN  REASONS  WHY  I  BELIEVE  THE  BIBLE 

She  is  one  of  God's  children,  and  knows  the  voice 
which  speaks  to  her  from  the  Bible  is  the  voice  of 
God.     She  is  above  argument. 

Everyone  can  have  that  testimony.  John  7: 17  (R. 
V.,)  tells  you  how  to  get  it.  "  If  any  man  willeth  to 
do  His  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  teaching,  whether  it 
be  of  God."  Just  surrender  your  will  to  the  will  of 
God,  no  matter  where  it  carries  you,  and  you  will  put 
yourself  in  such  an  attitude  toward  God  that  when 
you  read  this  book  you  will  recognize  that  the  voice 
that  speaks  to  you  from  it  is  the  voice  of  the  God  to 
whom  you  have  surrendered  your  will. 

Some  time  ago,  when  I  was  speaking  to  our  students 
upon  how  to  deal  with  sceptics,  there  was  in  the 
audience  a  graduate  of  a  British  University  who  had 
fallen  into  utter  scepticism.  At  the  close  of  the 
lecture  he  came  to  me  and  said: 

"  I  don't  wish  to  be  discourteous,  sir,  but  my  ex, 
perience  contradicts  everything  you  have  said." 

I  asked  him  if  he  had  followed  the  course  of  action 
that  I  had  suggested  and  not  found  light.  He  said 
that  he  had.  Stepping  into  another  room  I  had  a 
pledge  written  out  running  somewhat  as  follows: 

"  I  believe  there  is  an  absolute  difference  between 
right  and  wrong,  and  I  hereby  take  my  stand  upon 
the  right,  to  follow  it  wherever  it  carries  me.  I 
promise  earnestly  to  endeavor  to  find  out  what  the 
truth  is,  and  if  I  ever  find  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
Bon  of  God,  I  promise  to  accept  Him  as  my  Savior 


TkE  TESTIMONY  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT  181 

and  confess  Him  before  the  world." 

I  handed  the  paper  to  the  gentleman  and  asked 
him  if  he  was  willing  to  sign  it.  He  answered,  "  Cer- 
tainly,"  and  did  sign  it.     I  said  to  him: 

"  You  don't  know  there  is  not  a  God,  and  you 
don't  know  that  God  dosn't  answer  prayer  I  know 
He  does,  but  my  knowledge  cannot  avail  for  you,  but 
here  is  a  possible  clew  to  knowledge.  Now  you  have 
promised  to  search  earnestly  for  the  truth,  so  you 
will  follow  this  possible  clue.  I  want  you  to  offer  a 
a  prayer  like  this:  *0h,  God,  if  there  be  any  God, 
and  thou  dost  answer  prayer,  show  me  whether  Jesus 
Christ  is  thy  Son,  and  if  you  show  me  He  is,  I  will 
accept  Him  as  my  Savior  and  confess  Him  before 
the  world;  " 

This  he  agreed  to  do.  I  further  requested  that  he 
would  take  the  Gospel  of  John  and  read  in  it  every 
day,  reading  only  a  few  verses  at  a  time  slowly  and 
thoughtfully,  every  time  before  he  read  asking  God 
to  give  him  light.  This  he  also  agreed  to  do,  but  he 
finished  by  saying,  "  There  is  nothing  in  it."  How- 
ever,  at  the  end  of  a  short  time,  I  met  him  again, 
and  he  said  to  me,  "  There  is  something  in  that."  1 
replied,  "  I  knew  that."  Then  he  went  on  to  say  it 
seemed  just  as  if  he  had  been  caught  up  by  the 
Niagara  river  and  had  been  carried  along,  and 
that  before  long  he  would  be  a  shouting  Metho- 
dist. 

A  short  time  ago  I  met  this  gentleman  again,  and 


132       TEN  REASONS  WHY  2  BELIEVE  THE  BIBL£S 

he  said  to  me  that  he  could  not  understand  how  he  har^ 
been  so  blind,  how  he  had  ever  listened  to  the  reason, 
ing  which  he  had;  that  it  seemed  to  him  utterly  foolish 
now.  I  replied  that  the  Bible  would  explain  this  to 
him,  that  the  "  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  o>% 
the  Spirit  of  God,"  but  that  now  he  had  put  himself 
into  the  right  attitude  towards  God  and  His  truth, 
everything  had  been  made  plain.  That  man,  who 
assured  me  that  he  was  "  a  very  peculiar  man,"  and 
that  methods  that  influenced  others  would  not  in- 
fluence  him,  by  putting  himself  into  the  right 
attitude  towards  God,  got  to  a  place  where  he  re- 
ceived the  direct  testimony  of  the  Holy  Ghost  that 
this  Bible  is  God's  Word;  and  any  one  else  caa  do 
the  same 


KMWIUMUUNr 
PAMPHLET  BINDER 

PAT.    NO. 

877168 

Manufactured  hu 

GAYLORD  BROS.  Inc. 

Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

Stockton,  Calif. 


Date  Due 


■■'                  ''     '^      '■,': 

■',            J-             '     '.. 

^ 

BS445 .L43 
Our  Bible... 

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